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Measurement Studio
TM
User Manual
Measurement Studio User Manual
Measurement Studio User Manual
July 2004 Edition
Part Number 323392B-01
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Alliance Program
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™
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™
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in your software, the patents.txt
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Contents
About This Manual
Chapter 1
Introduction to Measurement Studio
Chapter 2
Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
Waveform Graph and Scatter Graph Controls ................................................2-6
Chapter 3
Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries Overview.........................................3-1
©
National Instruments Corporation v
Measurement Studio User Manual
Contents
Chapter 4
Developing with Measurement Studio
Creating an NI-DAQmx User Control ............................................................ 4-6
Creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA Application............................. 4-6
Adding or Removing Measurement Studio Class Libraries.......................................... 4-8
Appendix A
Technical Support and Professional Services
Glossary
Index
Measurement Studio User Manual
vi ni.com
About This Manual
The
Measurement Studio User Manual
introduces the concepts associated with the Measurement Studio class libraries and development tools. This manual assumes that you have a general working knowledge of Microsoft
Visual Studio .NET, including Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, Microsoft
Visual C#, or Microsoft Visual C++.
How to Use this Manual
Measurement Studio 7.1 includes two CDs—one with support for Visual
Studio .NET 2003 and one with support for Visual Studio 6.0. This manual documents the Visual Studio .NET 2003 CD. For help with Visual
Studio 6.0, refer to the
Measurement Studio Support for Visual Studio 6.0
Readme
located on the Measurement Studio for Visual Studio 6.0 CD.
The
Measurement Studio User Manual
is organized into four chapters.
Introduction to Measurement Studio
Measurement Studio. This chapter includes installation and distribution requirements, installation instructions, and a list of Measurement Studio
Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
information about the .NET class libraries and the Visual C++ class
libraries, respectively. Chapter 4,
Developing with Measurement Studio
includes information on using Measurement Studio tools and features to develop applications.
Use this manual as a starting point to learn about Measurement Studio.
Refer to the
NI Measurement Studio Help
within the Visual Studio .NET environment for function reference and detailed information about the
Measurement Studio class libraries, wizards, assistants, and other features.
©
National Instruments Corporation vii
Measurement Studio User Manual
»
About This Manual
Conventions
bold
italic
monospace
The following conventions appear in this manual:
The
»
symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options to a final action. The sequence
File»Page Setup»Options
directs you to pull down the
File
menu, select the
Page Setup
item, and select
Options
from the last dialog box.
This icon denotes a tip, which alerts you to advisory information.
This icon denotes a note, which alerts you to important information.
Bold text denotes items that you must select or click in the software, such as menu items and dialog box options.
Italic text denotes variables, emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction to a key concept. This font also denotes text that is a placeholder for a word or value that you must supply.
Text in this font denotes text or characters that you enter from the keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and syntax examples. This font also is used for the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories, programs, device names, filenames, and extensions.
Measurement Studio User Manual
viii ni.com
1
Introduction to Measurement
Studio
Measurement Studio is an integrated suite of native tools and class libraries that are designed for developers using Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#, and
Visual C++ .NET to develop measurement and automation applications.
Measurement Studio dramatically reduces application development time through object-oriented measurement hardware interfaces, advanced analysis libraries, scientific user interface controls, measurement data networking, wizards, interactive code designers, and highly extensible
.NET and Visual C++ classes. You can use Measurement Studio to develop a complete measurement and automation application that includes data acquisition, analysis, and presentation functionalities.
Installation Requirements
To install Measurement Studio, your computer must have the following:
• Microsoft Windows 2000/XP operating system
• Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 (required only for the Measurement
Studio .NET class libraries)
• Standard, Professional, Enterprise Developer, or Enterprise Architect edition of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 (required to use the
Measurement Studio integrated tools)
• Intel Pentium class processor, 133 MHz or higher
• Video display—800
×
600, 256 colors (16-bit color recommended for user interface controls)
• Minimum of 128 MB of RAM (256 MB or higher recommended)
• Minimum of 200 MB of free hard disk space
• Microsoft-compatible mouse
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
Optional Installation
—In order for links from Measurement Studio help topics to .NET Framework help topics to work, you must install the
Microsoft .NET Framework SDK 1.1.
©
National Instruments Corporation 1-1
Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 1 Introduction to Measurement Studio
Distribution Requirements
To distribute an application built with Measurement Studio .NET class libraries, the target computer must have a Windows 2000/XP operating system and the .NET Framework version 1.1.
To distribute an application built with Measurement Studio Visual C++ class libraries, the target computer must have a Windows 2000/XP operating system.
Installation Instructions
Complete the following steps to install Measurement Studio. These steps describe a typical installation. Please review carefully all additional licensing and warning dialog boxes. Measurement Studio 7.1 includes two
CDs—one with support for Visual Studio .NET 2003 and one with support for Visual Studio 6.0. This manual documents the Visual Studio .NET 2003
CD. For help with Visual Studio 6.0, refer to the
Measurement Studio
Support for Visual Studio 6.0 Readme
located on the Measurement Studio for Visual Studio 6.0 CD.
If you install Measurement Studio 7.1 on a machine that has Measurement
Studio 7.0 installed, the installer will replace Measurement Studio 7.0 functionality, including class libraries. The Measurement Studio 7.0 assemblies will remain in the global assembly cache (GAC); therefore, applications that reference the Measurement Studio 7.0 version will continue to use Measurement Studio 7.0 .NET assemblies.
If Measurement Studio 7.0 is on your machine, Measurement Studio 7.1 will install to the Measurement Studio 7.0 directory. To install
Measurement Studio 7.1 to the default directory (
Program Files\
NationalInstruments\MeasurementStudioVS2003)
, you must first uninstall all Measurement Studio class libraries, including class libraries installed with National Instruments driver software, such as NI-VISA,
NI-488.2, and NI-DAQmx.
Measurement Studio supports side-by-side installation of version 6.0 and
7.1. You must install Measurement Studio 6.0 and 7.1 to different directories.
1.
Insert the Measurement Studio CD into the CD-ROM. autorun.exe
automatically starts. If it does not automatically start, double-click the autorun.exe
icon.
2.
Click
Install NI Measurement Studio
.
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1-2 ni.com
Chapter 1 Introduction to Measurement Studio
3.
Enter the serial number. You can find your serial number on the
Certificate of Ownership card that you received with Measurement
Studio. Click
Next
.
4.
Click
Next
to install all NI software to the default installation directory, or click
Browse
to select a different installation directory.
You must install Measurement Studio to a local drive. Click
Next
.
Note
The option to browse for an installation location is valid only if you have not already installed any Measurement Studio features of the same version you are installing. If you have any Measurement Studio features of the same version installed, the Measurement
Studio installer installs to the same root directory to which you installed other
Measurement Studio features.
5.
From the feature tree, select the features you want to install. To change the Measurement Studio installation directory, select the first feature in the list and click
Browse
. Click
Next
.
6.
In the Product Information dialog box, carefully review important information about the features you are installing. Click
Next
.
7.
Review the license agreement and select
I accept the License
Agreement(s)
. Click
Next
.
8.
In the Installation Summary dialog box, review the features you selected. Click
Next
.
Note
Step 8 starts the installation of Measurement Studio. Be aware that when the installer indicates that it is removing backup files, this is a normal operation. The installer might take several minutes to complete this step.
9.
If prompted, insert the Device Drivers CD and select
Rescan Drive
.
If not prompted, go to step 14 on this list.
10. From the feature tree, select the Device Drivers components you want to install. To change a driver installation directory, select the driver and click
Browse
. Click
Next
.
11. In the Product Information dialog box, carefully review important information about the features you are installing. Click
Next
.
12. Review the license agreement and select
I accept the License
Agreement(s)
. Click
Next
.
13. In the Installation Summary dialog box, review the features you selected. Click
Next
.
14. When prompted, click the appropriate registration options.
15. Click
Finish
to complete the installation.
16. Click the appropriate restart option.
©
National Instruments Corporation 1-3
Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 1 Introduction to Measurement Studio
Measurement Studio Package Comparison Chart
Table 1-1 lists the features included in the Standard, Professional, and
Enterprise Editions of Measurement Studio.
Table 1-1.
Measurement Studio Package Comparison Chart
Project Templates
User Interface Controls
GPIB Interfaces
VISA Interfaces
1
1
NI-DAQmx Interfaces
C++ LabVIEW Real-Time Connectivity
Standard Analysis
2
1
UI DataSocket Binding
DataSocket Server
Parameter Assistant
Feature
Instrument I/O Assistant Integration
1
Instrument I/O Assistant Code Generation
Data Acquisition Assistant Integration
1
1
Data Acquisition Assistant Code Generation
ActiveX Controls for Visual Basic 6.0
1
Standard
Edition
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Professional
Edition
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Visual C++ 6.0 Classes
Professional Analysis
NI-Reports
3
C++ Microsoft Office Interface (Word and Excel)
3D Graph for Visual C++
NI TestStand Integration
LabWindows
™
/CVI
™
Enterprise Analysis
4
Full Development System (FDS)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
1
Included with the Driver CD.
2
Refer to the
Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
functionality included in the Standard Analysis class library.
3
Refer to the
Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
functionality included in the Professional Analysis class library.
4
Refer to the
Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
functionality included in the Enterprise Analysis class library.
—
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
—
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Enterprise
Edition
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Measurement Studio User Manual
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Chapter 1 Introduction to Measurement Studio
Measurement Studio Resources
As you work with Measurement Studio, you might need to consult other resources. For detailed Measurement Studio help, including function reference and in-depth documentation on developing with Measurement
Studio, refer to the
NI Measurement Studio Help
within the Visual
Studio .NET environment. The
NI Measurement Studio Help
is fully integrated with the Visual Studio .NET help. You must have Visual
Studio .NET installed to view the online help, and you must have the
Microsoft .NET Framework SDK 1.1 installed in order for links from
Measurement Studio help topics to .NET Framework help topics to work.
You can launch the
NI Measurement Studio Help
in the following ways:
• From the Windows Start menu, select
Start»All Programs»National
Instruments»Measurement Studio 7.1 for VS .NET 2003»
Measurement Studio Documentation
. The help launches in a stand-alone help viewer.
• From Visual Studio .NET, select
Help»Contents
to view the Visual
Studio .NET table of contents. The
NI Measurement Studio Help
is listed in the table of contents.
• From Visual Studio .NET, select
Measurement Studio»
NI Measurement Studio Help
. The help launches within the application.
Tip
As you work through this manual, you will see italicized references to relevant help topics. You can find these topics by using the table of contents in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help.
The following resources also are available to provide you with information about Measurement Studio.
• Examples—Measurement Studio installs examples to the following paths, depending on whether you have previously installed
Measurement Studio on your machine.
If you have previously installed Measurement Studio for
Windows 2000/XP, Version 7.0, the example programs are installed to the following directories:
– Visual Basic .NET or Visual C#—
Program Files\National
Instruments\MeasurementStudio70\DotNET\Examples
– Visual C++ .NET—
Program Files\National
Instruments\MeasurementStudio70\VCNET\Examples
©
National Instruments Corporation 1-5
Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 1 Introduction to Measurement Studio
If you have not previously installed Measurement Studio for
Windows 2000/XP, Version 7.0, the example programs are installed to the following directory:
– Visual Basic .NET or Visual C#—
Program Files\National
Instruments\MeasurementStudioVS2003\DotNET\
Examples
– Visual C++ .NET—
Program Files\National
Instruments\MeasurementStudioVS2003\VCNET\
Examples
•
NI Technical Support—Refer to Appendix A,
, for more information.
• Measurement Studio Web site, ni.com/mstudio
—Contains
Measurement Studio news, support, downloads, and evaluation software.
• NI Developer Zone, ni.com/devzone
—Provides access to online example programs, tutorials, technical news, and a Developer
Exchange where you can participate in discussion forums for Visual
Basic, Visual C++, and Visual Studio .NET.
•
Measurement Studio .NET Class Hierarchy Chart
and
Measurement
Studio Visual C
++
Class Hierarchy Chart
—Provide overviews of class relationships within class libraries. Charts are included with all
Measurement Studio packages and are posted online under the Product
Manuals section of ni.com/mstudio
.
Measurement Studio User Manual
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2
Measurement Studio .NET Class
Libraries
This chapter provides overview information about the .NET class libraries included with Measurement Studio. Refer to the
Using the Measurement
Studio .NET Class Libraries
section of the
NI Measurement Studio Help
for detailed information about these libraries.
Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries Overview
Measurement Studio provides .NET class libraries that you can use to develop complete measurement and automation applications in Visual
Basic .NET and Visual C#.
Measurement Studio includes the following .NET class libraries:
• Analysis
• Common
• NI-488.2
• NI-DAQmx
• NI-VISA
• User Interface
Refer to the following sections for information about each Measurement
Studio .NET class library.
©
National Instruments Corporation 2-1
Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
Analysis
The Measurement Studio Analysis .NET class library is in the
NationalInstruments.Analysis
namespace. The Analysis class library includes a set of classes that provides various digital signal processing, signal filtering, signal generation, peak detection, and other general mathematical functionality. Use this library to analyze acquired data or to generate data.
The functionality included in the Analysis library varies based on the
Measurement Studio package you purchased. Refer to the following sections for information about the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise
Analysis class libraries.
Standard Analysis
The Standard Analysis class library, which ships with Measurement Studio
Standard Edition, includes the sawtooth, sine, square, triangle, and basic function wave generators.
Professional Analysis
The Professional Analysis class library, which ships with Measurement
Studio Professional Edition, includes the Standard Analysis functionality as well as the following functionality:
• Bessel, Chebyshev, Inverse Chebyshev, Windowed, Kaiser, and
Elliptic Low, High, Bandpass, and Bandstop filters
• Signal processing functions such as convolution, deconvolution, correlation, decimation, integration, and differentiation
• FFT, Inverse FFT, Fast Hartley, Inverse Fast Hartley, Fast Hilbert,
Inverse Fast Hilbert, and Real FFT transformations
• Linear algebra functions such as determinant, check positive definiteness, calculate dot product, and other various matrix methods
• Scaled and unscaled windowing classes
• Common statistical functions such as mean, median, mode, and variance
• Exponential, linear, and polynomial curve fitting functions
• Signal generation functions
Measurement Studio User Manual
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Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
Enterprise Analysis
The Enterprise Analysis class library, which ships with Measurement
Studio Enterprise Edition, includes the Standard and Professional Analysis functionality as well as the following advanced functionality:
• EquiRipple filters
• Linear algebra functions such as forward and back substitution,
LU factorization, and Cholesky factorization
• Probability and analysis of variance
• Sinc, impulse, pulse, ramp, and chirp patterns
• General least square curve fit and interpolation functions
Tip
For more information about analyzing or generating data with the Analysis class library, refer to the
Using the Measurement Studio Analysis .NET Library
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
Common
The Measurement Studio Common .NET class library is in the
NationalInstruments
namespace. The Common class library provides a set of classes that facilitates the exchange of data between the acquisition, analysis, and user interface portions of your application. The Common class library includes the following features:
• A
ComplexDouble
data type. This data type represents a complex number of type Double that is composed of a real part and an imaginary part.
• A
DataConverter
class that converts data from one data type to another data type.
• An
EngineeringFormatInfo
class that defines a custom formatter to format numeric values with engineering notation and International
System of Units (SI) prefixes and symbols.
Tip
For more detailed information about the Common class library, refer to the
NationalInstruments
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
©
National Instruments Corporation 2-3
Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
NI-488.2
The Measurement Studio NI-488.2 .NET class library is in the
NationalInstruments.NI4882
namespace. This class library is included on the Device Drivers CD. The NI-488.2 class library includes a set of classes that communicates with GPIB instruments, controls GPIB boards, and acquires GPIB status information. Use this library to design code that communicates with and controls instruments on a GPIB interface. Use the classes in the NI-488.2 class library to perform the following operations:
• Configure and communicate with GPIB instruments and boards.
• Perform I/O operations using the
Device
and
Board
classes.
Tip
For information about easily creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 application
using the Instrument I/O Assistant, refer to the
Creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA Application
Developing with Measurement Studio
more information about GPIB, visit ni.com/gpib
.
NI-DAQmx
The Measurement Studio NI-DAQmx .NET class library is in the
NationalInstruments.DAQmx
namespace. This class library is included on the Device Drivers CD. Use the NI-DAQmx class library to communicate with and control NI data acquisition (DAQ) devices.
Note
Some DAQ devices are not currently supported by the NI-DAQmx driver. Refer to the
NI-DAQ Readme
for a complete listing of supported hardware.
Use the NI-DAQmx class library to perform the following types of tasks:
• Analog signal measurement
• Analog signal generation
• Digital I/O
• Counting and timing
• Pulse generation
• Signal switching
Tip
For information about easily creating a DAQ application using the NI DAQ Assistant,
Creating a Measurement Studio DAQ Application
Developing with Measurement Studio
. For more information about DAQ, visit
ni.com/daq
.
Measurement Studio User Manual
2-4 ni.com
Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
NI-VISA
The Measurement Studio NI-VISA .NET class library is in the
NationalInstruments.VisaNS
namespace. The NI-VISA class library includes a set of classes that provides a rich, object-oriented interface to the
NI-VISA driver. Use this library to quickly create bus-independent and/or bus-specific instrument control applications.
The NI-VISA class library supports I/O operations, locking, event handling, and interface-specific extensions. With this class library you can access the functionality available in NI-VISA for communicating with message-based and register-based instruments using the following interfaces:
• GPIB
• PXI
• Serial (RS-232 and RS-485)
• TCP/IP
• USB
• VXI
Tip
For information about easily creating a Measurement Studio NI-VISA application using the Instrument I/O Assistant, refer to the
Creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA Application
Developing with Measurement Studio
. For more information about NI-VISA, visit ni.com/visa
.
User Interface
The Measurement Studio User Interface .NET class library is in the
NationalInstruments.UI.WindowsForms
namespace. The User
Interface class library encapsulates the following Measurement Studio user interface controls:
• Waveform graph
• Scatter graph
• Legend
• Knob
• Gauge
• Meter
• Slide
©
National Instruments Corporation 2-5
Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
• Thermometer
• Tank
• Numeric edit
• Switch
• LED
Use this class library to add measurement-specific user interface controls to your application. Configure the controls programmatically or through the Properties window in the Windows Forms Designer. The following sections describe each of the Measurement Studio user interface controls.
Tip
For more information about easily using the .NET interface controls, refer to the
Using the Measurement Studio Windows Forms .NET Controls
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
Waveform Graph and Scatter Graph Controls
Use the Measurement Studio waveform graph and scatter graph controls,
as shown in Figure 2-1, to display two-dimensional data on a Windows
Forms user interface. Use the waveform graph to display data that is uniformly spaced in one dimension. Use the scatter graph to display data that is arbitrarily spaced in two dimensions.
Measurement Studio User Manual
2-6 ni.com
Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
Figure 2-1.
Waveform Graph with Cursors and Scatter Graph with XY Point
Annotation; Both Graphs Have Corresponding Legends
With the waveform graph and scatter graph controls and the classes that interface with the controls, you can perform the following operations:
• Plot and chart data.
• Configure a graph to contain multiple plots to show separate but related data on the same graph.
• Configure a graph to include multiple axes or independent ranges so that plot data fits the graph plot area.
• Draw lines or fills from a plot to an X value, Y value, or plot.
• Specify plots in the scatter graph control as X and Y data. Specify plots in the waveform graph control as X or Y data and optionally with date and time scaling.
• Specify anti-aliased plots for plot lines.
• Use plot data tooltips to display X and Y coordinates when a user hovers the mouse over a data point.
• Use cursors to identify key points in plots and the plot area.
• Configure cursor snap modes to be fixed, floating, nearest point, and to plot.
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• Use cursor labels to display X and Y data coordinates that the cursor crosshair points to, and customize the text font and colors of the label.
• Use the extensible plot and plot area drawing capabilities and events to customize the graph appearance.
• Create custom point and line styles for plots and cursors.
• Pan and zoom interactively.
• Configure the axis modes to exact or loose autoscaling, fixed, strip chart, or scope chart.
• Configure major, minor, and custom divisions.
• Use logarithmic axes with configurable bases.
• Configure text labels, arrows, and drawing shapes to annotate a point anywhere in the plot area of the graph.
• Configure range area, text labels, and arrows to annotate a range in the plot area of the graph.
• Copy the graph as a BMP, GIF, JPEG, or PNG image, and paste it to the clipboard or a file.
Tip
For more information about using the waveform and scatter graph controls, refer to the
Using the Measurement Studio Graph .NET Controls
section in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help
.
Legend Control
Use the Measurement Studio legend control, as shown in Figure 2-1, to
display symbols and descriptions for a specific set of elements of another object, such as the plots or cursors of a graph. When you associate the legend control with another object, any changes you make to that object are automatically reflected in the legend. For example, if you associate the legend control with the plots of a graph, any changes you make in the plots collection editor are automatically reflected in the legend.
Tip
For more information about using the legend control, refer to the
Using the
Measurement Studio Legend .NET Control
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
Numeric Controls
Use the Measurement Studio numeric controls to display numerical information on a Windows Forms user interface with the look of scientific instruments. The numeric controls include a knob, gauge, meter, slide, thermometer, and tank. The following sections describe operations available with the controls and the classes that interface with them.
Use the Measurement Studio knob, gauge, and meter controls, as shown in
Figure 2-2, to represent a knob, gauge, and meter on your user interface.
Figure 2-2.
Knob, Gauge, and Meter Controls
With the knob, gauge, and meter controls and the classes that interface with the controls, you can perform the following operations:
• Specify the start and sweep angle of the arc programmatically or from the Properties Window.
• Use automatic division spacing and custom divisions, and invert the scale to counter-clockwise.
Use the Measurement Studio slide, tank, and thermometer controls, as
shown in Figure 2-3, to represent a slide, tank, and thermometer on your
interface.
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Figure 2-3.
Slide, Tank, and Thermometer Controls
With the slide, tank, and thermometer controls and the classes that interface with them, you can perform the following operations:
• Fill the minimum or maximum value of the scale.
• Position the scale horizontally with left, right, or both and position the scale vertically with top, bottom, or both.
With all of the numeric controls and the classes that interface with them, you can perform the following operations:
• Configure the scale to be linear or logarithmic and toggle the visibility of the scale.
• Bind the value to a .NET data source using .NET data binding.
• Connect to the Measurement Studio .NET numeric edit control so that if you change the value of one control, it changes the value of the other control.
• Customize the appearance of the control using 3D lab styles or classic
2D styles and change the color and length of ticks and labels.
• Configure the format of value labels to engineering or date/time.
Tip
For more information about using the knob, gauge, meter, slide, tank, or thermometer controls, refer to the
Knob, Gauge, Meter, Slide, Tank
, or
Thermometer Class
sections in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Chapter 2 Measurement Studio .NET Class Libraries
Numeric Edit Control
Use the Measurement Studio numeric edit control, as shown in Figure 2-4,
to display numeric values and to provide a way by which end users can edit numeric values. Typically, you use a numeric edit control to input or display double
numerical data instead of using a Windows Forms
TextBox or NumericUpDown control.
Figure 2-4.
Numeric Edit Control in Engineering Format Mode
With the numeric edit control and the classes that interface with the control you can perform the following operations:
• Use up/down buttons for easy incrementing and decrementing.
• Perform range checking.
• Set the range to infinite maximums and minimums.
• Create custom formats or use built-in numeric formats including generic, engineering, and simple double.
• Connect to a numeric control so that if you change the value of one control, it changes the value of the other control.
• Set the coercion mode property to discrete or continuous values. This configures the control to allow entry or display of either a discrete set of values or any value.
• Set the interaction mode to keyboard and mouse, keyboard only, mouse only, or none.
• Use the edit box to select text programmatically and to validate text values.
Tip
For more information about using the numeric edit control, refer to the
NumericEdit
Class
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Switch and LED Controls
Use the Measurement Studio switch and LED controls as Boolean controls on a Windows Forms user interface. You typically use a switch control,
as shown in Figure 2-5, to receive and control Boolean input on an
application user interface.
Figure 2-5.
Switch Control in Vertical Toggle 3D Style
You typically use an LED control, as shown in Figure 2-6, to indicate a
Boolean value on an application user interface.
Figure 2-6.
LED Control in Square 3D Style
With the switch and LED controls and the classes that interface with the controls, you can perform the following operations:
• Receive notification before or after the state of the control changes.
• Configure how the control behaves when you click it with the mouse or press the spacebar when the control has focus.
• Configure the appearance of the control.
• Make the control background transparent.
• Configure the LED control to blink while it is on or off and configure the rate at which the LED control blinks.
Tip
For more information about using the switch and LED controls, refer to the
Using the Measurement Studio Switch and LED .NET Controls
section in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help.
Measurement Studio User Manual
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3
Measurement Studio Visual C++
Class Libraries
This chapter provides overview information about the Visual C++ class libraries that are available with Measurement Studio. Refer to the
Using the Measurement Studio Visual C
++
Class Libraries
section of the
NI Measurement Studio Help
for detailed information about these libraries.
Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Overview
Measurement Studio provides libraries of MFC-based classes that you can use to develop complete measurement and automation applications in
Visual C++.
Measurement Studio includes the following Visual C++ class libraries:
• 3D Graph
• Analysis
• Common
• Instrument Drivers
• LabVIEW Real-Time Interface
• Microsoft Excel Interface
• Microsoft Word Interface
• NI-488.2
• NI-DAQmx
• NI-Reports
• NI-VISA
• User Interface
• Utility
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
ActiveX Controls in Visual C++
ActiveX controls are specialized COM servers that implement a specific set of interfaces. The Measurement Studio Visual C++ button, graph, knob, numeric edit, slide, and 3D Graph are ActiveX controls. Measurement
Studio includes classes that provide native C++ interfaces to the ActiveX controls. For example, the
CNiGraph
class provides an interface to the
CWGraph ActiveX graph control.
The Measurement Studio classes that provide interfaces to the
Measurement Studio ActiveX controls simplify using ActiveX controls in
Visual C++ interfaces and programs. The features that simplify this process include overloaded functions, the ability to call the control from any thread, and automatic data type translations.
3D Graph Control
Use the Measurement Studio ActiveX 3D graph control, as shown in
Figure 3-1, to plot three-dimensional data. The 3D graph is included only
in the Measurement Studio Enterprise package.
Measurement Studio User Manual
Figure 3-1.
ActiveX 3D Graph Control
With the Measurement Studio ActiveX 3D graph control and the classes that interface with the control, you can perform the following operations:
• Plot three-dimensional data, including curves and surfaces.
• Configure the control to render directly to OpenGL-enabled hardware accelerator cards.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
• Bind the control to a DataSocket Server to enable automatic read and write functionality.
• Use multiple plot styles—point-line, line-point, hidden-line, contour, surface, surface-line, surface-contour, and surface-normal.
• Create multiple plots with individual properties, such as name, line and point style, width, and base value.
• Configure the axes using customizable ticks, labels, value pairs, and captions.
• Use legends and plane projections.
• Use cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical coordinate systems.
• Customize the control using color maps, transparency, and lighting.
• Display in orthographic and perspective views.
• Use built-in format styles for labels including scientific, symbolic engineering, scaling, time, and date.
• Rotate, pan, and zoom interactively.
Tip
For information about easily creating graphs with the 3D graph control library, refer to the
3D Graph Visual C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help
.
Analysis
The Measurement Studio Analysis Visual C++ class library includes a set of classes that provides various digital signal processing, signal filtering, signal generation, peak detection, and other general mathematical functionality. Use the Analysis Visual C++ class library to analyze acquired data or to generate data.
The functionality included in the Analysis library varies based on the
Measurement Studio package you purchased. Refer to the following sections for information about the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise
Analysis class libraries.
Standard Analysis
The Standard Analysis class library, which ships with Measurement Studio
Standard Edition, includes the sawtooth, sine, square, triangle, and basic function wave generators.
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Professional Analysis
The Professional Analysis class library, which ships with Measurement
Studio Professional Edition, includes the Standard Analysis functionality as well as the following functionality:
• Bessel, Chebyshev, Inverse Chebyshev, Windowed Kaiser, and Elliptic
Low, High, Bandpass, and Bandstop filters
• Signal processing functions such as convolution, deconvolution, correlation, decimation, integration, and differentiation
• FFT, Inverse FFT, Fast Hartley, Inverse Fast Hartley, Fast Hilbert,
Inverse Fast Hilbert, and Real FFT transformations
• Linear algebra functions such as determinant, check positive definiteness, calculate dot product, and other various matrix methods
• Scaled and unscaled windowing classes
• Common statistical functions such as mean, median, mode, and variance
• Exponential, linear, and polynomial curve fitting functions
• Signal generation functions
Enterprise Analysis
The Enterprise Analysis class library, which ships with Measurement
Studio Enterprise Edition, includes the Standard and Professional Analysis functionality as well as the following advanced functionality:
• EquiRipple filters
• Linear algebra functions such as forward and back substitution,
LU factorization, and Cholesky factorization
• Probability and analysis of variance
• Sinc, impulse, pulse, ramp, and chirp patterns
• General least square curve fit and interpolation functions
Tip
For more information about analyzing or generating data with the Analysis class library, refer to the
Analysis Visual C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Common
The Measurement Studio Common Visual C++ class library provides data types and classes that other Measurement Studio Visual C++ class libraries use. The classes that are implemented natively in Visual C++ include the
CNiVector
and
CNiMatrix
classes.
The Common class library includes the following data types:
•
CNiScalarVector
—Implements a vector object that contains scalar numbers.
•
CNiScalarMatrix
—Implements a matrix object that contains scalar numbers.
•
CNiString
—Extends the MFC
CString
class with streaming operators for a variety of data types and with various other string manipulation functions.
•
CNiVariant
—Extends the MFC
COleVariant
class with additional constructors and assignment operators for
CNiComplex
-,
CNiVector
-, and
CNiMatrix
-derived objects and with cast operators to convert
CNiVariant
objects to a variety of other object types.
•
CNiException
—Extends the MFC
CException
class and serves as the base class for many Measurement Studio exceptions.
•
CNiRegKey
—Encapsulates the interface to the Windows registry. Use this class and related classes to open and create keys, get keys, and get values associated with those keys.
Tip
For more detailed information about the Common class library, refer to the
Common
Visual C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
Instrument Drivers
Measurement Studio includes a set of class libraries that provides
Visual C++ classes that you can use to program instruments, such as digital multimeters and oscilloscopes. These Visual C++ classes provide native
C++ interfaces to ANSI C DLL-based Interchangeable Virtual Instrument
(IVI) drivers. Each Measurement Studio instrument driver class library includes a set of Visual C++ classes that interfaces to a single IVI driver.
The Measurement Studio Visual C++ classes provide enhancements to the
ANSI C interface, such as automatic data type translation and organization of properties and methods into a logical hierarchy.
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IVI drivers are divided into two main categories—class drivers and specific drivers. Each class driver provides a consistent interface to a particular type of device. Measurement Studio includes the following class driver class libraries:
•
IviDcPwr
—Provides an interface to the IVI DC power supply class driver.
CNiIviDcPwr
is the top-level class of this class library.
•
IviDmm
—Provides an interface to the IVI DMM class driver.
CNiIviDmm
is the top-level class of this class library.
•
IviFgen
—Provides an interface to the IVI arbitrary waveform generator class driver.
CNiIviFgen
is the top-level class of this class library.
•
IviScope
—Provides an interface to the IVI oscilloscope class driver.
CNiIviScope
is the top-level class of this class library.
•
IviSwitch
—Provides an interface to the IVI switch class driver.
CNiIviSwtch
is the top-level class of this class library.
Each specific driver provides an interface to a particular device, such as the NI-DMM modular instrument. National Instruments provides
Measurement Studio Visual C++ instrument driver class libraries for the National Instruments PXI modular instruments and for many third-party vendor instruments. You can download the Measurement Studio
Visual C++ instrument driver class libraries from ni.com/idnet
.
Tip
For more information on using instrument drivers, refer to the
Using Instrument
Drivers in Measurement Studio Applications
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
LabVIEW Real-Time Interface
Use the Measurement Studio LabVIEW Real-Time Interface Visual C++ class library to read from and write to shared memory on a LabVIEW RT
Series processor board. Use shared memory to pass data between
LabVIEW RT VIs and your application. Use this class library both from an application that runs on the host machine and from a DLL that you download to the board.
Note
The LabVIEW RT DLLs you create with the Measurement Studio LabVIEW RT
Interface Visual C++ class library work only with the LabVIEW Real-Time Module software version 6.0 or later.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Tip
For more information on using the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, refer to the
LabVIEW Real-Time Interface Visual C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
. For more information about the LabVIEW Real-Time
Module, visit ni.com/labviewrt
.
Microsoft Excel Interface
Use the Measurement Studio Excel Visual C++ class library to automatically create Excel spreadsheets and charts from within measurement and automation applications. Use the Microsoft Excel
Interface class library to perform offline processing of the measurement and automation data you acquire and analyze using other Measurement
Studio Visual C++ classes. This class library is included only in the
Measurement Studio Enterprise package.
Tip
For more information about using the Measurement Studio Excel Visual C++ class library to create applications that present data in Microsoft Excel format, refer to the
Microsoft Excel Interface Visual C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
Microsoft Word Interface
Use the Measurement Studio Microsoft Word Interface Visual C++ class library to automatically create Word documents from within measurement and automation applications. Use the Microsoft Word Interface class library to perform offline processing of the measurement and automation data you acquire and analyze using other Measurement Studio Visual C++ classes. This class library is included only in the Measurement Studio
Enterprise package.
Tip
For more information about using the Measurement Studio Word Visual C++ class library to create applications that present data in Microsoft Word, refer to the
Microsoft Word Interface Visual C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
NI-488.2
Use the Measurement Studio NI-488.2 Visual C++ class library to communicate with and control instruments on a GPIB interface.
Use the classes in this library to perform the following operations:
• Perform I/O with GPIB instruments and boards.
• Configure GPIB instruments and boards.
• Perform event handling for GPIB instruments and boards.
You can use the NI-488.2 class library to create programs that interface with a device that is using GPIB and/or programs that interface with the
GPIB board directly.
Tip
For information about easily creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 application
using the Instrument I/O Assistant, refer to the
Creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA Application
Developing with Measurement Studio
more information about GPIB, visit ni.com/gpib
.
NI-DAQmx
Use the Measurement Studio NI-DAQmx Visual C++ class library to communicate with and control an NI data acquisition (DAQ) device.
Note
Some DAQ devices are not currently supported by the NI-DAQmx driver. Refer to the
NI-DAQ Readme
for a complete listing of supported hardware.
Use the NI-DAQmx class library to perform the following types of tasks:
• Analog signal measurement
• Analog signal generation
• Digital I/O
• Counting and timing
• Pulse generation
• Signal switching
Tip
For information about easily creating a DAQ application using the NI DAQ Assistant,
Creating a Measurement Studio DAQ Application
Developing with Measurement Studio
. For more information about DAQ, visit
ni.com/daq
.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
NI-Reports
Use the Measurement Studio NI-Reports Visual C++ class library to generate printed reports from Measurement Studio Visual C++ applications. This class library is included only in the Measurement Studio
Enterprise package.
Tip
For more information about generating printed reports using the NI-Reports class library, refer to the
NI-Reports Visual C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
NI-VISA
The Measurement Studio NI-VISA Visual C++ class library includes
Visual C++ classes that provide an object-oriented interface to the
NI-VISA driver. Use the NI-VISA class library to quickly create bus-independent and/or bus-specific instrument control applications.
The NI-VISA class library supports I/O operations, locking, event handling, and interface-specific extensions. With this class library, you can access the functionality available in NI-VISA for communicating with message-based and register-based instruments using the following interfaces:
• GPIB
• PXI
• Serial (RS-232 and RS-485)
• TCP/IP
• USB
• VXI
Tip
For more information about easily creating a Measurement Studio NI-VISA application using the Instrument I/O Assistant, refer to the
NI-488.2 or NI-VISA Application
. For information about NI-VISA, visit ni.com/visa
.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
User Interface
Use the Measurement Studio User Interface Visual C++ class library to add user interface controls to your application. You can configure the user interface controls programmatically or through the property pages in the
Visual C++ resource editor. The following sections describe each of the
Measurement Studio Visual C++ user interface controls.
Button Control
Use the Measurement Studio ActiveX button control, as shown in
Figure 3-2, for different Boolean displays, such as on/off or true/false.
Typically, you use buttons to input or display Boolean information or initiate an action in a program. The
CNiButton
class provides the Visual
C++ interface to the ActiveX button control.
Figure 3-2.
ActiveX Button Control
With the button control and the classes that interface with the control, you can perform the following operations:
• Configure how the control behaves when you click it with the mouse or press the spacebar when the control has focus.
• Configure how the button control appears using button styles. You can configure the button control to appear as a push button, LED, or switch.
• Bind properties to a DataSocket source or target. You use binding to read property values from a source and write property values to a target.
Tip
For more information about easily using the button control, refer to the
Using the
Measurement Studio Visual C
++
Button Control
section in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Graph Control
Use the Measurement Studio ActiveX graph control, as shown in
Figure 3-3, to plot and chart two-dimensional data. The
CNiGraph
class provides the Visual C++ interface to the ActiveX graph control.
Figure 3-3.
ActiveX Graph Control
With the graph control and the classes that interface with the control, you can perform the following operations:
• Plot and chart data.
• Configure a graph to contain multiple plots to show separate but related data on the same graph.
• Configure a graph to include multiple Y axes so that plot data fits the graph plot area.
• Use cursors and annotations to identify key points in plots and the plot area.
• Configure cursor snap modes to be fixed, floating, nearest point, and to plot.
• Pan and zoom interactively.
• Use the
CNiAxis
class to interface to a single axis of a graph control.
This feature allows you to modify the appearance and behavior of the axis.
• Automatically label axes with log or inverted numeric scales.
• Configure the axis modes for manual scaling or autoscaling.
• Configure the graph for fixed, strip, or scope charting.
• Customize the graph by using ticks, labels, and value pairs.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
• Bind properties to a DataSocket source or target. You use binding to read property values from a source and write property values to a target.
Tip
For more information about easily using the graph control, refer to the
Using the
Measurement Studio Visual C
++
Graph Control
section in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help.
Knob Control
Use the Measurement Studio ActiveX knob control, as shown in
Figure 3-4, to display numerical information. The
CNiKnob
class provides the Visual C++ interface to the ActiveX knob control.
Figure 3-4.
ActiveX Knob Control
With the knob control and the classes that interface with the control, you can perform the following operations:
• Use different display styles—dials, gauges, and meters.
• Use multiple control pointers, each representing one scalar value.
A control pointer indicates the current value of the knob.
• Use the
CNiAxis
class to interface to a single axis of a knob control.
This feature allows you to modify the appearance and behavior of the axis.
• Automatically label axes with log or inverted numeric scales and continuous or discrete values.
• Customize the knob by using ticks, labels, and value pairs.
• Bind properties to a DataSocket source or target. You use binding to read property values from a source and write property values to a target.
Tip
For more information about easily using the knob control, refer to the
Using the
Measurement Studio Visual C
++
Knob Control
section in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help
.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Numeric Edit Control
Use the Measurement Studio ActiveX numeric edit control, as shown in
Figure 3-5, to display numeric values and provide a way by which end
users can edit numeric values. Typically, you use a numeric edit control to input or display numerical data instead of using a text box. The
CNiNumEdit
class provides the Visual C++ interface to the ActiveX numeric edit control.
Figure 3-5.
ActiveX Numeric Edit Control with Scientific Formatting
With the numeric edit control and the classes that interface with the control, you can perform the following operations:
• Use built-in numeric format styles, including scientific, symbolic engineering, scaling, time, and date.
• Perform range checking.
• Bind properties to a DataSocket source or target. You use binding to read property values from a source and write property values to a target.
Tip
For more information about easily using the numeric edit control, refer to the
Using the Measurement Studio Visual C
++
Numeric Edit Control
section in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help
.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Slide Control
Use the Measurement Studio ActiveX slide control, as shown in
Figure 3-6, to display numerical data.
CNiSlide
is the class that provides the Visual C++ interface to the ActiveX slide control.
Figure 3-6.
ActiveX Slide Control
With the slide control and the classes that interface with the control, you can perform the following operations:
• Use different display styles—vertical, horizontal, tank, and thermometer.
• Use the
CNiAxis
class to interface to a single axis of a slide control.
This ability allows you to modify the appearance and behavior of the axis.
• Use multiple control pointers, each one representing one scalar value.
• Automatically label axes with log or inverted numeric scales and continuous or discrete values.
• Customize the slide by using ticks, labels, and value pairs.
• Bind properties to a DataSocket source or target. You use binding to read property values from a source and write property values to a target.
Tip
For more information about easily using the slide control, refer to the
Using the
Measurement Studio Visual C
++
Slide Control
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Utility
Utility Class
CNiFile
CNiSound
CNiSystem
CNiSystemTrayIcon
Use the Measurement Studio Utility Visual C++ class library to easily
access Windows operating system functionality. Table 3-1 lists classes in
the Utility class library and their functionality.
Table 3-1.
Utility Class Names and Functionalities
Functionality
CNiFile
extends the MFC
CStdioFile
class by adding streaming operators for standard Visual C++ data types. In addition, a variety of class static functions add the ability to manipulate file, path, directory, and drive attributes.
CNiSound
encapsulates an interface for generating synchronous and asynchronous tones at specific frequencies.
CNiSystem
provides the following functionality:
• Getting and setting system preferences
• Displaying help files
• Getting input for the keyboard
CNiSystemTrayIcon
encapsulates the interface to the system tray area that displays changes in the status of an application. The
CNiSystemTrayIcon
class includes the following features:
• Icons—You can place an icon in the system tray to notify the user of changes in an application status.
• String tooltips—You can associate a string tooltip with an icon and display the tooltip when the user hovers over the icon.
• Shortcut menus—You can associate a shortcut menu with an icon and display the shortcut menu when the user right-clicks the icon.
• Overridable event handling.
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Chapter 3 Measurement Studio Visual C++ Class Libraries
Utility Class
CNiTempFile
CNiTimer
Table 3-1.
Utility Class Names and Functionalities (Continued)
Functionality
CNiTempFile
extends the functionality of
CNiFile
to add temporary file creation and manipulation.
CNiTimer
objects use the Windows multimedia timer to generate high-resolution, asynchronous tick events. Respond to tick events when you want to perform an action at a discrete interval.
Additionally, you can count the tick events to calculate elapsed time.
The
CNiTimer
class also contains static functions you can use to delay for a period of time or to determine elapsed time between two points in your program.
Tip
For more information about using the Utility class library, refer to the
Utility Visual
C
++
Class Library Overview
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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4
Developing with Measurement
Studio
When you use Measurement Studio in the Visual Studio .NET environment, you have access to measurement and automation tools and features for Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#, and Visual C++ .NET. These integrated tools and features are designed to help you quickly and easily build measurement and automation applications.
This chapter includes the following sections to help you develop applications with Measurement Studio:
•
Creating a New Measurement Studio Project
•
Creating a Measurement Studio DAQ Application
•
Creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA Application
•
Adding or Removing Measurement Studio Class Libraries
•
Selecting a Measurement Studio Parameter Value
•
Calling Instrument Drivers from .NET Languages
These sections include overview information on developing applications with Measurement Studio tools and features. Refer to the
Developing with
Measurement Studio
section of the
NI Measurement Studio Help
for more information about the functionality of these tools and features.
Measurement Studio Menu
The Measurement Studio Menu provides an easy way to access the following National Instruments resources and tools:
• Parameter Assistant
—Use the Measurement Studio Parameter
Assistant to discover and insert valid parameter values for various
Measurement Studio class libraries, such as NI-DAQ, NI-488.2, and NI-VISA methods.
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Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
•
Add/Remove Class Libraries Wizard
—Use the Measurement
Studio Add/Remove Class Libraries wizard to add or remove
Measurement Studio class libraries or assemblies in existing Visual
Basic .NET, Visual C#, or Visual C++ .NET projects.
•
Project Conversion Wizard
—Use the Project Conversion wizard to convert Measurement Studio 1.0 and 6.0 Visual C++ projects to the current version installed on your machine. Conversion from
7.0 projects to 7.1 projects is not necessary.
•
National Instruments Tools»Measurement & Automation
Explorer (MAX)
—Use MAX to configure NI hardware; add new channels, interfaces, and virtual channels; execute system diagnostics; and view devices and instruments connected to the system.
•
National Instruments Tools»NI Spy
—Use NI Spy to monitor, record, and display National Instruments API calls made by instrument connectivity applications. Use NI Spy to quickly locate and analyze any erroneous National Instruments API calls that an application makes and verify that the communication with an instrument is correct.
•
Developer Exchange
—Use NI Developer Exchange at ni.com/devzone
to participate in discussion forums and exchange code with measurement and automation developers around the world.
•
Instrument Driver Network
—Use the NI Instrument Driver
Network at ni.com/idnet
as a central resource for downloading, developing, and submitting instrument drivers.
•
Search Technical Support
—Use NI Technical Support at ni.com/support
to find support resources available for most products, including software drivers and updates, a KnowledgeBase, product manuals, step-by-step troubleshooting wizards, conformity documentation, example code, tutorials and application notes, instrument drivers, discussion forums, and a measurement glossary.
•
NI Measurement Studio Help
—Use the
NI Measurement Studio
Help
to access detailed Measurement Studio help, including function reference and in-depth documentation on developing with
Measurement Studio.
•
Additional Online Resources»Measurement Studio Home
Page
—Use the Measurement Studio Web site at ni.com/mstudio
to find Measurement Studio news, support, downloads, and evaluation software.
•
Additional Online Resources»Measurement Encyclopedia
—Use the online NI Measurement Encyclopedia to find information on measurement principles, standards organizations, and a wide range of technology and measurement terms.
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Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
•
Preferences
—Use the Measurement Studio Preferences dialog box to configure Measurement Studio settings, such as conversion options and add-in preferences.
•
Patents
—Use the Patents dialog box to view information about
NI patents.
•
About NI Measurement Studio
—Use the NI Measurement Studio
About box to view version information.
Tip
For more information about the resources included in the Measurement Studio Menu, refer to the
Measurement Studio Menu
topic in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
Creating a New Measurement Studio Project
Measurement Studio includes class library and application templates that you can use to quickly create measurement applications with Visual Basic
.NET, Visual C#, and Visual C++ .NET. Use the Visual Studio .NET New
Project dialog box, as shown in Figure 4-1, to access these templates and
create the following types of projects:
• Measurement Studio Visual Basic .NET project
• Measurement Studio Visual C# project
• Measurement Studio Visual C++ .NET project
• Measurement Studio Visual C++ project with
NI LabWindows/CVI libraries
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Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
Figure 4-1.
New Project Dialog Box
Tip
For more information about using project templates to create a new Measurement
Studio project, refer to the
Creating a New Measurement Studio Project
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
. For information about converting Measurement Studio projects, refer to the
Converting Measurement Studio Projects
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
Creating a Measurement Studio DAQ Application
To create a Measurement Studio DAQ application, use the NI DAQ
Assistant. The DAQ Assistant integrates into Visual Studio .NET as a code designer. Use the Add New Item wizard to add a DAQ task to your project,
and use the DAQ Assistant user interface, as shown in Figure 4-2, to
interactively create and configure the DAQ task. The DAQ Assistant automatically generates a Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#, or Visual C++
.NET class that includes the functionality you configure in the user interface.
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Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
The DAQ Assistant interactively assists you in performing the following operations:
• Creating a DAQ task class
• Configuring a DAQ task class
• Generating a Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#, or Visual C++ .NET class that includes the functionality you configure in the user interface
• Generating code that uses a DAQ task class
• Using a DAQ task class in a project
Figure 4-2.
DAQ Assistant
Tip
For more information about using the DAQ Assistant to create a Measurement Studio
DAQ application, refer to the
Creating a Measurement Studio DAQ Application
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
Creating an NI-DAQmx User Control
You can create an NI-DAQmx .NET user control with Measurement Studio that provides a default graphical user interface to an NI-DAQmx task. The
NI-DAQmx User Control wizard wraps a configured NI-DAQmx task class in a user-friendly control. You can drop the generated user control from the
Visual Studio .NET Toolbox onto a form and use it just as you use any
Windows Forms control.
Tip
For more information on how to create a user control, refer to the
Using a DAQmx
Task Class in a Project
topic of the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
Creating a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA
Application
To create a Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA application, use the
Instrument I/O Assistant. The Instrument I/O Assistant, as shown in
Figure 4-3, integrates into Visual Studio .NET as a code designer. Use the
Add New Item wizard to add an instrumentation task to your project, and use the Instrument I/O Assistant user interface to create and configure the instrumentation task. The Instrument I/O Assistant generates a Visual
Basic .NET, Visual C#, or Visual C++ .NET class that includes the functionality you configure in the user interface. Use this assistant to help you write code that communicates with devices such as serial, Ethernet, or
GPIB instruments.
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Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
Figure 4-3.
Instrument I/O Assistant
The Instrument I/O Assistant aids you in performing the following operations:
• Creating an instrumentation task class
• Configuring an instrumentation task class to communicate with an instrument and parse data you receive from the instrument.
Tip
For more information about using the Instrument I/O Assistant to create a
Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA application, refer to the
Creating a
Measurement Studio 488.2 or VISA Application
section of the
NI Measurement
Studio Help
.
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Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
Adding or Removing Measurement Studio Class
Libraries
To add or remove Measurement Studio class libraries from a project, use the Measurement Studio Add/Remove Class Libraries wizard on the
Measurement Studio menu. This wizard provides an interface, as shown
in Figure 4-4, that you can use to select the Measurement Studio class
libraries you want to add to or remove from a project.
When you exit the wizard, the wizard adds or removes the appropriate references to or from the project, thus adding or removing the functionality associated with the class library.
Figure 4-4.
Measurement Studio Add/Remove Class Libraries Wizard
Tip
For more information about using the Add/Remove Class Libraries wizard to add or remove Measurement Studio class libraries, refer to the
Adding or Removing Measurement
Studio Class Libraries
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
Selecting a Measurement Studio Parameter Value
To access I/O devices or resources, you must specify string constants or scalar values for many method parameters and property values. Use the
Measurement Studio Parameter Assistant, on the Measurement Studio menu, to discover and insert into your code valid parameter values for methods and various Measurement Studio class libraries, such as
NI-DAQmx, NI-488.2, and NI-VISA.
With the Parameter Assistant, you can select the correct parameter value
for a device or resource, as shown in Figure 4-5, based on your current
system configuration. Click the Insert Selected Item button on the
Parameter Assistant to insert the value into the current location in the active source file.
Figure 4-5.
Measurement Studio Parameter Assistant
Tip
For more information about using the Measurement Studio Parameter Assistant to select a parameter value, refer to the
Selecting a Measurement Studio Parameter Value
section in the
NI Measurement Studio Help
.
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Measurement Studio User Manual
Chapter 4 Developing with Measurement Studio
Calling Instrument Drivers from .NET Languages
To use an IVI or VXI
plug&play
instrument driver with a C DLL in a
Measurement Studio .NET application, use the Measurement Studio .NET
Instrument Driver wizard to create .NET entry points to the C DLL functions you need to call from your application. Use the Add New Item wizard to select the .NET Instrument Driver Wizard.
The Measurement Studio .NET Instrument Driver wizard, as shown in
Figure 4-6, generates a .NET wrapper class for calling into IVI,
VXI
plug&play
, and legacy instrument drivers based on the instrument driver function panel, header file, and an optional
.sub
file for IVI drivers.
The wizard can generate both Visual C# and Visual Basic .NET source code. After completing the wizard, a new instrument driver wrapper class is added to your project and opened in the source code editor.
Figure 4-6.
Launching the Measurement Studio .NET Instrument Driver Wizard from the Add New Item Wizard
Tip
For more information about the .NET instrument driver wizard, refer to the
Using
Instrument Drivers in Measurement Studio Applications
section in the
NI Measurement
Studio Help
.
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A
Technical Support and
Professional Services
Visit the following sections of the National Instruments Web site at ni.com
for technical support and professional services:
•
Support
—Online technical support resources at ni.com/support include the following:
–
Self-Help Resources
—For immediate answers and solutions, visit the award-winning National Instruments Web site for software drivers and updates, a searchable KnowledgeBase, product manuals, step-by-step troubleshooting wizards, thousands of example programs, tutorials, application notes, instrument drivers, and so on.
–
Free Technical Support
—All registered users receive free Basic
Service, which includes access to hundreds of Application
Engineers worldwide in the NI Developer Exchange at ni.com/exchange
. National Instruments Application Engineers make sure every question receives an answer.
•
Training and Certification
—Visit ni.com/training
for self-paced training, eLearning virtual classrooms, interactive CDs, and Certification program information. You also can register for instructor-led, hands-on courses at locations around the world.
•
System Integration
—If you have time constraints, limited in-house technical resources, or other project challenges, NI Alliance Program members can help. To learn more, call your local NI office or visit ni.com/alliance
.
If you searched ni.com
and could not find the answers you need, contact your local office or NI corporate headquarters. Phone numbers for our worldwide offices are listed at the front of this manual. You also can visit the Worldwide Offices section of ni.com/niglobal
to access the branch office Web sites, which provide up-to-date contact information, support phone numbers, email addresses, and current events.
©
National Instruments Corporation A-1
Measurement Studio User Manual
Glossary
A
ActiveX
ActiveX control analog I/O annotate
ANSI C
API assembly
ActiveX control container asynchronous
Set of Microsoft technologies for reusable software components. Formerly
Reusable software component that adds functionality to any ActiveX control container through exposed properties, methods, and events. The
Measurement Studio data acquisition, user interface, and analysis controls are examples of ActiveX controls.
Development environment that fully supports ActiveX controls and integrates them into its own environment using COM. An ActiveX control container enables you to specify how ActiveX controls interact with the environment through environment properties. Visual Basic is an example of an ActiveX control container.
Reading or writing data in continuously variable physical quantities, such as voltage or current.
Adding text, arrows, or shapes to describe or highlight a point or region on a graph.
C programming language defined by the American National Standards
Institute.
Application Programming Interface. A specification of software functions and their input and return parameters.
A collection of one or more files that are versioned and deployed as a unit.
An assembly is the primary building block of a .NET Framework application. All managed types and resources are contained within an assembly and are marked either as accessible only within the assembly or as accessible from code in other assemblies.
Function that begins an operation and returns control to the program prior to the completion or termination of the operation.
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Glossary
B
button
C
channel chart
CodeBuilder coercion
COM
A control used to input or display boolean information or to initiate an action in a program.
1. Physical—a terminal or pin at which you can measure or generate an analog or digital signal. A single physical channel can include more than one terminal, as in the case of a differential analog input channel or a digital port of eight lines. The name used for a counter physical channel is an exception because that physical channel name is not the name of the terminal where the counter measures or generates the digital signal.
2. Virtual—a collection of property settings that can include a name, a physical channel, input terminal connections, the type of measurement or generation, and scaling information. You can define NI-DAQmx virtual channels outside a task (global) or inside a task (local). Configuring virtual channels is optional in Traditional NI-DAQ and earlier versions, but is integral to every measurement you take in NI-DAQmx. In Traditional
NI-DAQ, you configure virtual channels in MAX. In NI-DAQmx, you can configure virtual channels in either MAX or in a program, and you can configure channels as part of a task or separately.
3. Switch—a switch channel represents any connection point on a switch.
It may be made up of one or more signal wires (commonly one, two, or four), depending on the switch topology. A virtual channel cannot be created with a switch channel. Switch channels may be used only in the
NI-DAQmx Switch functions and VIs.
To append new data points to the end of an existing plot over time.
LabWindows/CVI feature that creates code based on a
.uir
file to connect your GUI to the rest of your program. This code can be compiled and run as soon as it is created.
Automatic conversion that Measurement Studio controls perform to change the numeric representation of a data element.
Component Object Model. Microsoft specification for architecting and developing reusable software components.
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Glossary
context-sensitive help control counter/timer I/O cursor cursor label
Help for dialog boxes, the controls in dialog boxes, and keywords in source code that you can access with the <F1> key or a
Help
button, or by clicking the link that appears in the Dynamic Help window in Visual Studio .NET.
1. ActiveX control.
See
.
2. Object for entering, displaying, or manipulating data on a user interface.
Reading or writing data based on high-precision timing through a counter or timer. By combining a counter with a highly accurate clock, you can create a wide variety of timing and counting applications, such as monitoring and analyzing digital waveforms and generating complex square waves.
Flashing rectangle that shows where you may enter text on the screen. If you have a mouse installed, there is a rectangular mouse cursor, or pointer.
Text object used to display X and Y coordinates that a cursor crosshair points to on a graph.
D
DAQ
DAQ Assistant
DAQ device
DataSocket device digital I/O
Data acquisition. Process of acquiring data, typically from A/D or digital input plug-in boards.
A graphical interface for configuring measurement tasks, channels, and scales.
A device that acquires or generates data and can contain multiple channels and conversion devices. DAQ devices include plug-in devices, PCMCIA cards, and DAQPad devices, which connect to a computer USB or 1394
(FireWire) port. SCXI modules are considered DAQ devices.
Technology that simplifies live data exchange between applications and
HTTP, FTP, OPC, logos (Lookout objects) and file servers over the Internet.
It provides one common API to a number of different communication protocols.
An instrument or controller you can access as a single entity that controls or monitors real-world I/O points. A device is often connected to a host computer through some type of communication network.
See also
and
Reading or writing digital representations of data in discrete units
(the binary digits 1 and 0). Digital information is either on or off.
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National Instruments Corporation G-3
Measurement Studio User Manual
E
Ethernet event executable
F
form front panel
FTP
Glossary
distribution
DLL
DMM driver
DSTP
Ability to install programs you develop with Measurement Studio to others working on different computers.
Dynamic Link Library. A library of functions that link to a program and load at run time rather than being compiled into the program. Loading libraries only when they are needed saves memory in software applications.
Digital Multimeter. A common measurement instrument that measures resistance, current, and voltage in a wide variety of applications.
Software that controls a specific hardware device, such as a data acquisition board or GPIB interface board.
See also
.
DataSocket Transfer Protocol. Protocol based on TCP/IP to exchange data directly between two applications using DataSocket clients. Data is passed through a DataSocket Server between the applications.
Standard connection type for networks, where computers are connected by coaxial or twisted-pair cable.
Object-generated response to some action or change in state, such as a mouse click or a completed acquisition. The event calls an event procedure that processes the event.
Program file with a
.exe
extension that you can run independently of the development environment in which it was created.
Window or area on the screen on which you place controls and indicators to create the user interface for your program.
Interactive user interface of a virtual instrument. Modeled after the front panel of physical instruments, it is composed of switches, slides, meters, graphs, charts, gauges, LEDs, and other controls and indicators.
File Transfer Protocol. Protocol based on TCP/IP to exchange files between computers.
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Glossary
G
gauge
GPIB
A control used to input or display numerical data.
General Purpose Interface Bus. The standard bus used for controlling electronic instruments with a computer. Also called IEEE 488 bus because it is defined by ANSI/IEEE Standards 488-1978, 488.1-1987, and
488.2-1987.
A 2D or 3D display of one or more plots.
graph
H
HTTP
I
IEEE 488
IMAQ Vision
HyperText Transfer Protocol. Protocol based on TCP/IP, which is used to download Web pages from an HTTP server to a Web browser.
indicator installer instrument driver
Instrument I/O
Assistant
Shortened notation for ANSI/IEEE Standards 488-1978, 488.1-1987, and 488.2-1987.
See also
National Instruments image acquisition and analysis software that you can use to acquire images from National Instruments image acquisition
(IMAQ) boards, display them in your program, perform interactive viewer operations, and analyze the images to extract information.
A control in read-only mode.
Software program that copies program, system, and other necessary files to computers.
Library of functions to control and use one specific physical instrument.
Also a set of functions that adds specific functionality to an application.
Assists in writing code to communicate with devices such as serial,
Ethernet, or GPIB instruments. The Instrument I/O Assistant provides a user interface within the Visual Studio .NET environment. You use the
Instrument I/O Assistant to interactively write commands to a device, read data that the device returns, and specify how to parse the response.
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Measurement Studio User Manual
Glossary
interface
IVI
Connection between one or more of the following: hardware, software, and the user. For example, hardware interfaces connect two other pieces of hardware.
Interchangeable Virtual Instruments. A technology involving standard programming interfaces for classes of instruments, such as oscilloscopes,
DMMs, and function generators, that results in hardware-independent instrument drivers. The IVI standard programming interfaces have been defined by the IVI Foundation, an industry consortium. Visit www.ivifoundation.org
.
legend
M
matrix
MB
K
knob
L
LabVIEW
A control used to input or display numerical data.
LabWindows/CVI
LED
Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench. Graphical development environment used for developing test and measurement applications.
ANSI C development environment for building test and measurement applications.
Light-Emitting Diode. An indicator that emits a light when current passes through it. For example, an LED shows if your computer or printer is turned on.
A control that displays symbols and descriptions for a specific set of elements of another object, such as the plots or cursors of a graph.
A rectangular array of numbers or mathematical elements that represent the coefficients in a system of linear equations.
Megabytes of memory.
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Glossary
Measurement &
Automation Explorer
(MAX) measurement device
Measurement Studio meter method
MFC
National Instruments tool for configuring your National Instruments hardware and driver software; executing system diagnostics; adding new devices, interfaces, and virtual channels; and viewing devices and instruments connected to your system.
DAQ devices such as the E Series multifunction I/O (MIO) devices,
SCXI signal conditioning modules, and switch modules.
National Instruments software that includes tools to build measurement applications in Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#, and Visual C++ .NET.
A control used to input or display numerical data.
Function that performs a specific action on or with an object. The operation of the method often depends on the values of the object properties.
Microsoft Foundation Class. A framework for programming in Microsoft
Windows, MFC provides code for managing windows, menus, and dialog boxes; performing basic input/output; storing collections of data objects, and more.
N
NI-488.2
NI-DAQ
NI-DAQmx
NI-IMAQ
Driver-level software to control and communicate with National
Instruments GPIB hardware.
Driver-level software to control and communicate with DAQ hardware.
NI-DAQ is an extensive library of VIs and functions you can call from an application development environment (ADE) to program all the features of an NI measurement device, such as configuring, acquiring and generating data from, and sending data to the device.
The latest NI-DAQ driver with new VIs, functions, and development tools for controlling measurement devices. The advantages of NI-DAQmx over earlier versions of NI-DAQ include the DAQ Assistant for configuring channels and measurement tasks for your device for use in LabVIEW,
LabWindows/CVI, and Measurement Studio; increased performance such as faster single-point analog I/O; and a simpler API for creating DAQ applications using fewer functions and VIs than earlier versions of
NI-DAQ.
Driver-level software to control and communicate with National
Instruments image acquisition hardware.
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Measurement Studio User Manual
Glossary
P
PCI
PID numeric edit control
O
OCX
OLE
OPC oscilloscope
A control used to display and edit numeric values.
OLE Control eXtension. Another name for ActiveX controls, reflected by the
.ocx
file extension of ActiveX control files.
Object Linking and Embedding.
See
OLE for Process Control. An industry standard based on ActiveX and COM technologies that enables you to create a single client application that can communicate with disparate devices. Visit www.opcfoundation.org
.
Measurement instrument widely used in high-speed testing applications, such as telecommunication physical layer testing, video testing, and high-speed digital design verification.
plot point property
Peripheral Component Interconnect. High-performance expansion bus architecture commonly found in PCs.
Proportional-Integral-Derivative. A three-term control mechanism combining proportional, integral, and derivative control. You might use a
PID algorithm to control processes such as heating and cooling systems, fluid level monitoring, flow control, and pressure control.
1. Trace (data line) on a graph representing the data in one row or column of an array.
2. To display a new set of data while deleting any previous data on the graph.
Structure that contains two 16-bit integers that represent horizontal and vertical coordinates.
Attribute that defines the appearance or state of an object. The property can be a specific value or another object with its own properties and methods.
For example, a value property is the color (property) of a plot (object), while an object property is a specific Y axis (property) on a graph (object).
The Y axis itself is another object with properties, such as minimum and maximum values.
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property pages
PXI
R
range
S
scalar scale scatter graph scope serial slide slider switch synchronous
Glossary
Window or dialog box that displays current configuration information and allows users to modify the configuration.
PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation. Rugged, open platform for modular instrumentation with specialized mechanical, electrical, and software features. Visit www.pxisa.org
.
Region between the limits within which a quantity is measured, received, or transmitted. The range is expressed by stating the lower and upper range values.
Number that a point on a scale can represent. The number is a single value as opposed to an array.
Part of graph, chart, and some numeric controls and indicators that contains a series of marks or points at known intervals to denote units of measure.
A control that displays two-dimensional data on a Windows Forms user interface; displays a graph of X and Y data pairs.
See
Standard serial bus on a computer used to communicate with instruments.
Also known as RS-232.
A control used to input or display numerical data.
Moveable part of a slide control.
A control used to receive and control boolean input in an application user interface.
Property or operation that begins and returns control to the program only when the operation is complete.
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National Instruments Corporation G-9
Measurement Studio User Manual
Glossary
T
tank task
TCP/IP
TestStand
A control used to input or display numerical data.
NI-DAQmx—a set of channels and the channel configurations, timing, and triggering, and other details that define a measurement or generation you want to perform.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A standard format for transferring data in packets from one computer to another. The two parts of
TCP/IP are TCP, which deals with the construction of data pockets, and IP, which routes them from computer to computer.
Ready-to-run test executive from National Instruments for organizing, controlling, and executing your automated prototype, validation, or manufacturing test systems.
A control used to input or display numerical data.
thermometer
U
UI User Interface.
V
vector 1D array.
virtual instrument (VI) Program in Measurement Studio that models the appearance and function of a physical instrument.
VISA Driver-software architecture developed by National Instruments to unify instrumentation software for serial, GPIB, and VXI instruments or controllers. It has been accepted as a standard for VXI by the
VXI
plug&play
Systems Alliance.
VXI VME eXtension for Instrumentation. Instrumentation architecture and bus based on the VME standard. Used in high-end test applications.
W
waveform graph A control that displays two-dimensional data on a Windows Forms user interface; displays data that is uniformly spaced in one dimension.
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Index
A
ActiveX controls in Visual C++, 3-2
Add/Remove Class Libraries wizard, 4-8 adding or removing Measurement Studio class libraries, 4-8
Analysis
new Measurement Studio project, 4-3
D
data acquisition (DAQ), 2-4, 3-8
developing with Measurement Studio, 4-1
diagnostic tools (NI resources), A-1
distribution requirements, 1-2
documentation conventions used in manual,
how to use this manual,
NI resources, A-1 drivers (NI resources), A-1
B
E
C
calling Instrument Drivers from .NET languages, 4-10
class driver class libraries
Common
conventions used in the manual,
creating
Measurement Studio DAQ application, 4-4
Measurement Studio NI-488.2 or NI-VISA application, 4-6
G
graph control
H
help
NI Measurement Studio Help, 1-5
how to use this manual,
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National Instruments Corporation I-1
Measurement Studio User Manual
Index
I
installation
instrument driver wizard, .NET, 4-10
instrument drivers (NI resources), A-1
Instrument Drivers Visual C++ class library,
K
knob
L
LabVIEW Real-Time Interface Visual C++ class library, 3-6
M
Measurement & Automation Explorer
Measurement Studio
Microsoft Excel Interface Visual C++ class library, 3-7
Microsoft Word Interface Visual C++ class library, 3-7
N
National Instruments support and services,
.NET class libraries
distribution requirements, 1-2
NI Instrument Driver Network, 4-2
NI Measurement Encyclopedia, 4-2
NI-488.2
creating a 488.2 application, 4-6
NI-DAQmx
creating a DAQ application, 4-4
NI-Reports Visual C++ class library, 3-9
NI-VISA
creating a VISA application, 4-6
numeric edit
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O
overview
Visual C++ class libraries, 3-1
P
programming examples (NI resources), A-1
project conversion wizard, 4-2
R
requirements
S
selecting a Measurement Studio parameter value, 4-9
slide control
software (NI resources), A-1 support, technical, A-1
T
training and certification (NI resources), A-1 troubleshooting (NI resources), A-1
U
User Interface
Visual C++ class library, 3-10 button, 3-10
Utility Visual C++ class library
CNiSystemTrayIcon (table), 3-15
V
Visual C++ class libraries
distribution requirements, 1-2
LabVIEW Real-Time Interface, 3-6
Microsoft Excel Interface, 3-7
Index
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Measurement Studio User Manual
Index
W
Windows Forms user interface controls, 2-5
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