IVI Class Drivers

National Instruments IVI Driver

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IVI Class Drivers

The IVI Compliance Package supports eight driver classes: oscilloscope, digital multimeter, function/arbitrary waveform generator, DC power supply, switch, RF signal generator, spectrum analyzer, and power meter. You can develop hardware independent test programs with these driver classes. The setup program installs the files you need to use the class drivers with LabWindows/CVI, LabVIEW, and Measurement Studio.

LabWindows/CVI

For LabWindows/CVI, an IVI class driver consists of the following files:

  • The class driver program, which consists of a .dll file and import library (.lib) files for various compilers.

  • The class driver includes file (.h), which contains the function declarations and constant definitions for the class.

  • The class driver function panel file (.fp), which defines the function tree, the function panels, and the help text.

  • The .sub file, which documents attributes and their possible values.

  • A Windows help file (.hlp), which contains documentation for the LabWindows/CVI class driver.

LabVIEW

For LabVIEW, an IVI class driver consists of the following files:

  • The class driver VIs, which are in a .llb file. The VIs link to a .dll file.

  • The .rc file, which documents properties and their possible values.

  • A set of .mnu files, which documents the hierarchy of VIs for the class driver.

  • A Windows help file (.hlp), which contains documentation for the LabVIEW class driver.

MeasurementStudio

For MeasurementStudio, an IVI class driver consists of the following files:

  • The static libraries for various run-time library compatibilities.

  • The class driver includes files (.h and .inl), which contain the class and constant definitions for the class.

  • The following figure shows how a class driver redirects function calls from a test program to the correct specific driver.

  • The component .xml file, which allows the class to be used with MeasurementStudio.

  • A Microsoft Help file (.chm), which contains documentation for the MeasurementStudio class driver.

Refer to IVI Class Drivers Overview for more information about class drivers.

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