Instrument driver

<p>An instrument driver, in the context of test and measurement (T&M) application development, is a set of software routines that simplifies remote <a href="/facts/Instrument_control/5aPUu6EW">instrument control</a>. Instrument drivers are specified by the IVI Foundation and define an <a href="/facts/Input/output/WQTE8Jas">I/O</a> abstraction layer using the <a href="/facts/Virtual_instrument_software_architecture/33RMIPVe">virtual instrument software architecture</a> (VISA). The VISA hardware abstraction layer provides an interface-independent communication channel to T&M instruments. The drivers encapsulate the <a href="/facts/Standard_Commands_for_Programmable_Instruments/pz4SLcVw">Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments</a> (SCPI) commands, which are an <a href="/facts/ASCII/vGUI33Qu">ASCII</a>-based set of commands for reading and writing instrument settings and measurement data. This standard allows an abstract way of using various <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming languages</a> to program remote-control applications instead of using SCPI commands. An instrument driver usually has a well-defined <a href="/facts/Application_programming_interface/GMlN4vUr">API</a>.
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Instrument driver open-in-new

Instrument driver