National Instruments NI 5401 Manuel D’Utilisation

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Chapter 1
Generating Functions with the NI 5401
©
 National Instruments Corporation
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Waveform Editor
You use the Waveform Editor to create, sketch, and edit complex 
waveforms that the VirtualBench-FG player can then generate. A library of 
standard waveforms for creating complex waveforms is included, and you 
can also write equations to create arbitrary waveforms and view the 
waveforms in a time or frequency domain.
NI-FGEN Instrument Driver
To create your application, you need an industry-standard software driver 
such as NI-FGEN to control your instrument. The NI-FGEN driver 
includes a set of standard functions for configuring, creating, starting, and 
stopping waveform generation. The instrument driver reduces your 
program development time and simplifies instrument control by 
eliminating the need to learn a complex programming protocol for your 
instrument. 
NI-FGEN is in a standard instrument driver format that works with 
LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and conventional programming languages 
such as C, C++, and Visual Basic.
Refer to the NI-FGEN 
readme.txt
 file for more details on the NI-FGEN 
instrument driver. This file can be launched from the 
Start»Programs»National Instruments FGEN menu.
Note
An NI-FGEN Instrument Driver Quick Reference Guide is included in your NI 5401 
kit. This reference guide helps you program your NI 5401.
Additional National Instruments Development Tools
The following sections describe several additional tools that you can use to 
develop complex applications for your NI 5401. The NI-FGEN instrument 
driver exposes the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to these 
development environments.
LabVIEW
LabVIEW is a graphical programming language for building 
instrumentation systems. With LabVIEW, you quickly create front panel 
user interfaces, giving you interactive control of your software system. To 
specify the functionality, you assemble block diagrams—a natural design 
notation for engineers and scientists. LabVIEW has all of the same 
development tools and language capabilities of a standard language such