General Program Steps and Examples for Your Traditional NI-488.2 Application

The following steps show you how to use the device-level traditional NI-488.2 calls in your application.

Initialization

Step 1. Open a Device

First use ibdev to open a device handle. The ibdev function requires the following parameters:

A successful ibdev call returns a device handle that is used for all device-level traditional NI-488.2 calls that communicate with the GPIB instrument.

Step 2. Clear the Device

Use ibclr to clear the device. This resets the device's internal functions to the default state.

Device Communication

Step 3. Communicate with the Device

Communicate with the device by sending it a "*IDN?" query and then reading back the response. Many devices respond to this query by returning a description of the device. You must refer to the documentation that came with your GPIB device to see specific instructions on the proper way to communicate with it.

Step 3a.

Use ibwrt to send the "*IDN?" query command to the device.

Step 3b.

Use ibrd to read the response from the device.

Continue communicating with the GPIB device until you are finished.

Cleanup

Step 4. Place the Device Offline before Exiting Your Application

Use ibonl to put the device handle offline before you exit the application.