02-02-2015 02:52 PM
I am using a PCI6503 card to do simple digital output. I have been able to exercise the card in NIMAX, so I know it works. The card will be used in automated testing, so I do not want to use Labview, etc. I plan to write my code in C (or C++). The best I can determine, VISA is the route I want to go. In the documentation, I read if VISAIC, but this utility does not even show my card (it does find a serial port and a printer port.) Can you tell me if I have missed some step in installation? Please be explicit-I am new to NI products.
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02-02-2015 05:42 PM
02-02-2015 06:32 PM
If you are going to use C/C++, you will want to make sure you have DAQmx and Measurement Studio installed. DAQmx is the driver for that card.
02-03-2015 11:59 AM - edited 02-03-2015 12:04 PM
I thought VISA was supposed to be a universal interface? There is a description for creating a .inf file for a PCI device using a utility that comes with VISA. The NI manuals were quite unclear. Apparently I'm not the only one confused, as a web search will quickly show.
02-03-2015 12:02 PM
Why do I need Measurement Studio? Can I access the DAQmx driver directly? Is there documentation of the DAQmx API?
02-03-2015 01:50 PM
02-04-2015 11:08 AM - last edited on 01-08-2024 02:47 PM by migration-bot
Hi Euticus,
You will want to use the DAQmx driver. VISA is more for low level instrument communication or writing custom device drivers. Please below for more information on VISA and using the driver with text based languages.
Measurement Studios is the NI extension of Visual Studios, and gives you built in access to the DAQmx functions and NI GUI objects. You don’t have to use it but it is worth the investment if you are going to be building applications in the future.
Also, I would recommend C# for developing your application if possible. NI has dropped supported for the C++ DAQmx API, and C# is better suited than C for the Windows environment (if you are using Windows).