Glossary
NI-IMAQfor IEEE-1394 Cameras User Manual G-2 ni.com
chrominance See chroma.
compiler A softwareutility that converts a source program in a high-level
programminglanguage, such asB asic,C, or Pascal, into an object or
compiled program in machine language.C ompiled programs run 10 to
1,000 times faster than interpreted programs.Seealsointerpreter.
conversiondevice Devicethat transforms a signal from on eform to another.For example,
analog-to-digitalconverters (ADCs) for analog input and digital-to-analog
converters(DACs) for analog output.
CPU Centralprocessing unit.
D
D/A Digital-to-analog.
DAC Digital-to-analogconverter.An electronic device, often an integrated
circuit,t hat convertsa digital number into a corresponding analo g voltage
orcu rrent.
DAQ Dataacquisition. (1) Collecting and measuring electrical signals from
sensors, transducers, and test probes or fixtures and inputting them to a
computer for processing. (2) Collecting and measuring the same kinds of
electricalsignals w ith A/D or DIO boards plugged into acomputer, and
possibly generating control signals with D/A and/or DIO boards in the
same computer.
defaultsetting Adefault parameter value recorded in the driver.In many cases, the default
input of a control is a certain value(often 0).
DLL Dynamiclink library. A software module in Microsoft Windows containing
executablecode and data that can be called or used by Windows
applications or otherDLLs; functions and data in a DLL are loaded and
linkedat r un time when theya re referenced bya Windows application or
otherDLLs.
DMA Directmemory access. A method by which data can be transferred between
computermem oryand a device or memory on the bus while the processor
does something else. DMA is the fastest method of transferring data
to/from computer memory.