National Instruments NI-VXI

Introduction to the

NI-VXI Functions

Chapter

This chapter introduces you to the NI-VXI functions and their

capabilities. Additional discussion is provided for each function’s

parameters and includes descriptions of the application development

environment. This chapter concludes with an overview on using the

NI-VXI application programming interface.

The NI-VXI functions are a set of C/C++ and BASIC language

functions you can use to perform operations with a VXI/VME system.

The NI-VXI C/C++ language interface is consistent across hardware

platforms and operating systems.

Function Groups

The NI-VXI functions are divided into several groups. All of them

apply to VXI, but some groups are not applicable to VME.

VXI/VME Function Groups

The following NI-VXI function groups apply to both VXI and VME.

• System Configuration Functions—The system configuration

functions provide functionality to initialize the NI-VXI software. In

addition, the system configuration functions can retrieve or modify

information about devices in your VXI/VME system.

• High-Level VXIbus Access Functions—Similar to the low-level

VXI/VMEbus access functions, the high-level VXI/VMEbus access

functions give you direct access to the VXI/VMEbus address

spaces. You can use these functions to read, write, and move blocks

of data between any of the VXI/VMEbus address spaces. You can

specify the main VXI/VMEbus privilege mode or byte order. The

functions trap and report bus errors. When the execution speed is

not a critical issue, the high-level VXI/VMEbus access functions

provide an easy-to-use interface.