VXIplug&play Overview

The main objective of the VXIplug&play Systems Alliance is to increase ease of use for end users through open, multi-vendor systems. The alliance members share a common vision for multivendor systems architecture, encompassing both hardware and software. This common vision enables the members to work together to define and implement standards for system-level issues.

As a step toward industry-wide software compatibility, the alliance developed one specification for I/O software—the Virtual Instrument System Architecture, or VISA. The VISA specification defines a next-generation I/O software standard not only for VXI, but also for GPIB, Serial, and other interfaces. With the VISA standard endorsed by more than 35 of the largest instrumentation companies in the industry including Tektronix, Hewlett-Packard, and National Instruments, VISA unifies the industry to make software interoperable, reusable, and able to stand the test of time. The alliance also grouped the most popular operating systems, application development environments, and programming languages into distinct frameworks and defined in-depth specifications to guarantee interoperability of components within each framework.