VXIPnP drivers
VXIplug&play (VXIPnP) style drivers are Win32 DLLs that have some standard functions defined by
the IVI Foundation (ivifoundation.org), such as:
• init
• close
• error_message
• reset
• self_test
• read
• initiate
• fetch
• abort
The application programming interface (API) was defined so that users of instruments have a familiar
API from instrument to instrument. There are some basic guidelines when creating APIs for your
instrument, such as using VISA data types and how to construct the CVI hierarchy.
LabVIEW drivers
Native LabVIEW drivers
A native LabVIEW
TM
driver is a LabVIEW driver that is created using entirely built-in LabVIEW VIs. It
does not make any calls to external DLLs or Library files. This makes the driver portable to all the
platforms and operating systems that LabVIEW and VISA supports (such as Linux
®
on x86, Mac
OS
®
X, and Microsoft
®
Windows
®
).
LabVIEW driver wrappers
All IVI-C drivers have a function panel file (file name extension .fp) that shows a hierarchy of the
function calls into a DLL. It is a tool that guides a user to select the correct function call in the driver,
because a DLL only has a flat API entry point scheme (unlike COM or .NET).
Any CVI-generated .fp files can be imported into LabVIEW and LabVIEW generates a wrapper for the
DLL. The drawback here is that the driver is dependent on the DLL, which is not portable and is
therefore specific to the Windows operating system.
Getting instrument drivers
To see what drivers are available for your instrument:
1. Go to the Product Support and Downloads web page (tek.com/product-support).
2. Enter the model number of your instrument.
3. Select Software from the list.
4. Select and download the file.
For LabVIEW
TM
, you can also go to the National Instruments website and search their instrument
driver database.
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