Differences Between Nl-VISA and Tek-VISA
Primary Software: Driver Software>>NI-VISA
Primary Software Version: 2.6
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: LabVIEW Development Systems
Problem: Both National Instruments and Tektronix offer versions of VISA. Which of these two should I install? What is the difference between them?
Solution: Both NI-VISA (Vers 2.5 and 2.6) and Tek-VISA (Ver 1.1) were tested with LabVIEW and the LabVIEW Scope Add-On for Open Windows Oscilloscopes. Both NI & Tek drivers appeared to be interoperable, although there are differences in the utilities used for configuration, troubleshooting, and development. Some useful National Instruments VISA-related utilities, which are not supported by Tek-VISA, include:
- VISA Interactive Control (VISAIC), a tool that lets you interactively open VISA sessions with your scope and look at the available operations, events, and attributes.
- NI-Spy, an application that monitors, records, and displays National Instruments API calls made by applications. You can use NI-Spy to quickly locate and analyze API calls that your application makes, and to verify that the communication with your instrument is correct. When installed with NI-VISA, you can monitor the message-based I/O occurring between your custom application and the scope.
- Measurement and Automation Explorer, a tool that centralizes the configuration of VISA and other settings.
- Instrument I/O Assistant, an Express VI in LV that streamlines communication with instruments.
It is only necessary to have one version of VISA installed at a time. Tek-VISA is not supported by National Instruments. For issues related to Tek-VISA, please contact
Tektronix Support.
Related Links:
KnowledgeBase 2PIB0ELD. Frequently Asked Questions on LabVIEW and Tektronix Scopes
Attachments:
Report Date: 08/09/2002
Last Updated: 10/23/2008
Document ID: 2O8I2ELD
