Choosing How to Use the NI-488.2 API

The NI-488.2 API has two subsets of calls to meet your application needs. Both of these sets, the traditional calls and the multi-device calls, are compatible across computer platforms and operating systems, so you can port applications to other platforms with little or no source code modification. For most applications, the traditional NI-488.2 calls are sufficient. If you have a complex configuration with one or more interfaces or multiple instruments, you should use the multi-device NI-488.2 calls. Whichever you choose, bus management operations necessary for device communication are automatically performed.

Communicating with a Single GPIB Instrument

Communicating with Multiple Instruments and/or Multiple Interfaces