IVI Drivers.... Pros and Cons?

[JohnCookInfineon]

Hello,

Pardon the duplicate post from the Instruments forum... I'm trying to get a feel for how good or bad IVI Drivers really are, how widely they are actually used, and how much support I can get when using them.

I've been using LabVIEW for 3 years now to do test bench automation and have written my own drivers often enough so I'm familiar with SCPI commands and working with a variety of test equipment.  I write simple and fast drivers.

The goal here is to be able to download and use some good quality canned drivers to save time and be consistent.  IVI drivers claim to be this magic bullet.

BUT... I have not had good luck so far.  When I look under the covers at the driver source code they are quite complicated and don't always work.  Has anyone had good luck so far, and how did you get there?

Thanks,

-John C.

[RTSLVU]

My experience with IVI drivers and other drivers that are just a "DLL in a VI wrapper" has been poor and I tend to avoid them at all costs.

Even if that means I have to create my own "drivers" using the SCPI commands.

Having LabVIEW support that includes "drivers" that are not IVI or a DLL wrapped up in a VI is a major decision maker when purchasing equipment.