National Instruments 653X Manuale Utente

Pagina di 147
Glossary
G-4
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default setting
A default parameter value recorded in the driver. In many cases, the default 
input of a control is a certain value (often 0) that means use the current 
default setting
.
device
 A plug-in data acquisition board, card, or pad that can contain multiple 
channels and conversion devices. Plug-in boards, PCMCIA cards, and 
devices that connects to your computer parallel port, are all examples of 
DAQ devices.
DGND
digital ground
digital trigger
a TTL-level signal having two discrete levels—a high and a low level
DIO
Digital Input/Output
DMA
Direct Memory Access—a method by which data can be transferred to or 
from computer memory from or to a device or memory on the bus while the 
processor does something else. DMA is the fastest method of transferring 
data to or from computer memory.
DPULL
A user-configurable 100 k
Ω internal resistor for data lines. You can connect 
the line to +5 VDC (pull up) or connect the line to ground (pull down).
F
FIFO
First-In First-Out memory buffer—the first data stored is the first data sent 
to the acceptor. FIFOs are often used on DAQ devices to temporarily store 
incoming or outgoing data until that data can be retrieved or output. For 
example, an analog input FIFO stores the results of A/D conversions until 
the data can be retrieved into system memory, a process that requires the 
servicing of interrupts and often the programming of the DMA controller. 
This process can take several milliseconds in some cases. During this time, 
data accumulates in the FIFO for future retrieval. With a larger FIFO, 
longer latencies can be tolerated. In the case of analog output, a FIFO 
permits faster update rates, because the waveform data can be stored on the 
FIFO ahead of time. This again reduces the effect of latencies associated 
with getting the data from system memory to the DAQ device.
function
a set of software instructions executed by a single line of code that may 
have input and/or output parameters and returns a value when executed