I/O Page, New IVI-COM Driver Wizard

I/O Type

The Nimbus I/O object can be used with either flavor of VISA (COM or conventional C). The selection made here determines which I/O provider will be used by the Nimbus I/O object. See the topic Using the I/O Object for details on making this selection.

VISA-C

Selecting this option instructs the I/O object to use VISA-C as its underlying I/O provider.

VISA-COM

Selecting this option instructs the I/O object to use VISA-COM as its underlying I/O provider.

None

Selecting this option informs Nimbus not to generate an I/O object. This option is chosen if you have an I/O library of your own, such as a custom I/O DLL you require to communicate with your instrument.

Integer format

Specifies the default format code to use for integer values in instrument command strings. Explicit format codes used in the instrument command override this setting.

See the topics under Working With Instrument Commands for more information.

Floating-point format

Specifies the default format code to use for floating-point values in instrument command strings. Explicit format codes used in the instrument command override this setting.

See the topics under Working With Instrument Commands for more information.

String format

Specifies the default format code to use for string values in instrument response strings. Explicit format codes used in the instrument command override this setting. This setting is only used for reading values from the instrument -- not for formatting values sent to the instrument.

See the topics under Working With Instrument Commands for more information.

Boolean True

Specifies a comma-separated list of instrument responses that should be interpreted as a boolean true. For instrument commands, the first string in the list will be used to send a boolean true to the device.

Boolean False

Specifies a comma-separated list of instrument responses that should be interpreted as a boolean false. For instrument commands, the first string in the list will be used to send a boolean false to the device.

SCPI compliant

Indicates whether the instrument uses SCPI-compliant instrument commands. Nimbus provides specialized support for SCPI-compliant instruments. See the topic Special Features For SCPI Commands for detailed information.

Generate direct I/O functions and attributes

This setting controls whether the wizard will generate the IVI-defined functions and attributes for directly communicating with the instrument using the underlying I/O mechanism. For a driver using VISA as its underlying I/O library, Nimbus will generate a working implementation of these functions and attributes. For a non-VISA-based driver, Nimbus will generate stub implementations that the driver developer must then fill in with an implementation appropriate for their specific I/O library.

The exact syntax and behavior of these functions is prescribed in IVI-3.4: API Sytle Guide.

Important
In order to comply with the IVI Generation IVI-2014, drivers must implement these direct I/O functions and attributes. These functions and attributes can be created after the wizard runs, but it is typically easier to let the wizard create them upfront.

Other Resources