National Instruments NI PCIe-8361 User Manual
Chapter 3
Developing Your Application
© National Instruments Corporation
3-9
The interrupt and trigger routing in the NI-VXI 3.0 or later low-level
drivers is somewhat different from the default routing in previous versions
of NI-VXI. Therefore, the compatibility layer may behave differently than
the original NI-VXI API with regard to these settings. In particular, if you
are receiving triggers on an external controller, you may need to modify the
trigger configuration on your extender module using MAX. Consult the
manual for your extender module for details. In general, interrupts are
routed automatically based on the interrupt configuration the resource
manager detects. Whether the changed routing behavior affects your
program is application dependent.
drivers is somewhat different from the default routing in previous versions
of NI-VXI. Therefore, the compatibility layer may behave differently than
the original NI-VXI API with regard to these settings. In particular, if you
are receiving triggers on an external controller, you may need to modify the
trigger configuration on your extender module using MAX. Consult the
manual for your extender module for details. In general, interrupts are
routed automatically based on the interrupt configuration the resource
manager detects. Whether the changed routing behavior affects your
program is application dependent.
Because VISA is an instrument-centric API, certain functions from the
more controller-centric NI-VXI API do not match perfectly with a VISA
counterpart. When an application enables an event with the NI-VXI API
compatibility layer, each logical address is enabled for that event
separately. For example, if the application enables an interrupt level, VISA
will enable the interrupt on each logical address, one at a time, until all the
devices are enabled. This means that some interrupts could be lost from
devices with higher numbered logical addresses. MAX provides an
option for users to pick which logical address is enabled first. Select
Tools»NI-VXI»VXI Options. Set Prioritized Signal LA to the logical
address of the device that generates the events. This prevents possible loss
of events from that device.
more controller-centric NI-VXI API do not match perfectly with a VISA
counterpart. When an application enables an event with the NI-VXI API
compatibility layer, each logical address is enabled for that event
separately. For example, if the application enables an interrupt level, VISA
will enable the interrupt on each logical address, one at a time, until all the
devices are enabled. This means that some interrupts could be lost from
devices with higher numbered logical addresses. MAX provides an
option for users to pick which logical address is enabled first. Select
Tools»NI-VXI»VXI Options. Set Prioritized Signal LA to the logical
address of the device that generates the events. This prevents possible loss
of events from that device.
Debugging
NI Spy and VISAIC are useful utilities for identifying the causes of
problems in your application, and are installed by default with your NI-VXI
installation.
problems in your application, and are installed by default with your NI-VXI
installation.
NI Spy tracks the calls your application makes to National Instruments
programming interfaces, including NI-VISA, NI-VXI, and NI-488. NI Spy
highlights functions that return errors, so during development you can
quickly spot which functions failed during a program’s execution. NI Spy
can log the calls your program makes to these drivers so you can check
them for errors at your convenience, or use the NI Spy log as a reference
when discussing the problem with National Instruments technical
support. Figure 3-4 shows an example of an error returned from a
call to
programming interfaces, including NI-VISA, NI-VXI, and NI-488. NI Spy
highlights functions that return errors, so during development you can
quickly spot which functions failed during a program’s execution. NI Spy
can log the calls your program makes to these drivers so you can check
them for errors at your convenience, or use the NI Spy log as a reference
when discussing the problem with National Instruments technical
support. Figure 3-4 shows an example of an error returned from a
call to
viMemAlloc
.