Glossary
NI5102 User Manual G-14 ni.com
PGIA programmable gain instrumentation amplifier
pipeline ahigh-performance processor structure in which the completion of an
instruction is brokeninto its elements so that several elements can be
processed simultaneously from differentinstruct ions
Plug and Play
devices
devicesthat do not require DIP switches or jumpers to configure resources
on the devices—alsocalled switchless devices
PlugandPlayISA aspecificationpreparedbyMicrosoft,Intel,andotherPC-related
companies that will result in PCs with plug-in boards that can be fully
configuredin software, without jumpers or swi tches on the boards
port (1) aco mmunications connection on a computer or a remote controller
(2) a digital port, consisting of four or eight lines of digital input
and/or output
postriggering the technique used on a DAQdevice to acquire a programmed number of
samples after trigger conditions are met
potentiometer anelectricaldevice the resistance of which can be manually adjusted; used
formanual adjustment of electrical circuits and as a transducer for linear or
rotary position
ppm partsper million
pretriggering the technique used on a DAQdevice to keep a continuous buffer filled with
data, so that when the trigger conditions are met, the sample includes the
data leading up to the trigger condition
probe compensation adjusting the tunable probe capacitor to get a flat frequency response
protocol theexact sequence of bits, characters, and control codes used to transfer
data between computers and peripherals through a communications
channel,such as the GPIB bus
pts points
pulse trains multiple pulses
pulsed output aform of counter signal generation by which a pulse is outputted when a
counterr eachesa certain value
PXI PCIeX tensions for Instrumentation—an open specification that buildsoff
the CompactPCI specificationby adding instrumentation-specific features