Chapter 1 Introduction
VXI-1394 User Manual for Windows 1-4 ni.com
Software Description
The NI-VISA/NI-VXI bus interface software includes a Resource
Manager, an interactive configuration and troubleshooting program,
acomprehensive library of software routines for VXI/VME programming,
a logging utility you can use for debugging, and graphical interactive
control programs for interacting with VISA. You can use this software to
seamlessly program multiple-mainframe configurations and have software
compatibility across a variety of controller platforms.
NI-VISA has a comprehensive library of software routines not only for
VXI/VME programming, but also for GPIB, GPIB-VXI, PXI, TCP/IP, and
Serial. You can use this software to program instruments connected through
different types of interfaces.
Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) helps you view your entire
test and measurement system and configure various components, whether
they are VXI, GPIB, PXI, or Serial devices. You can also add VME devices
to your system easily with MAX and view them on a screen display along
with the rest of your system.
MAX also features various options for running Resman. You can still
execute Resman independently to configure your instruments after a power
cycle. But you can also perform resource manager operations directly from
MAX or configure it to run Resman automatically at startup.
The NISpy util ity tracks the calls your application makes to National
Instruments drivers, including NI-VXI, NI-VISA, and NI-488.2. NISpy
helps you debug your application by clearly highlighting the functions that
return errors. You can let NISpy keep a log of your program’s calls to these
drivers so that you can check them for errors atyour convenience.

National Instruments Application Software

In addition to the NI-VISA/NI-VXI software, you can use the National
Instruments LabVIEW, Measurement Studio, and LabWindows™/CVI™
application programs and instrument drivers to ease your programming
task. These standardized programs match the modular virtual instrument
capability of VXI and can reduce your VXI/VME software development
time. These programs are fully VXIplug&play compliant and feature
extensive libraries of VXI instrument drivers written to take full
advantageof direct VXI control. LabVIEW, Measurement Studio,
andLabWindows/CVI include all the tools needed for instrument control,
dataacquisition, analysis, and presentation.