Choosing the right software for data acquisition

The subject of this report is any software that interfaces either with plug-in data acquisition (DAQ) boards or with external DAQ boxes. Embedded in it is the binary code needed to configure the registers of the box or board for analog, digital, and timing input/output. The software controls the gain per channel, sampling rate, sampling order, digital levels, and counter and timer control. It also controls the transfer of data to and from the board or box by polling, interrupts, or direct memory access. Multitasking and/or graphical programming and/or virtual instrumentation enhance the packages for use in process monitoring and control, test, measurement, and more. The author describes the main features of DAQ software and gives advice on how to choose the best package for a particular application. A table is given listing over 50 software packages.<
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