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**** Read Me First ****
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Version 1.0.0.0
April 18, 2006
Introducing the Agilent L44XX IVI-COM Driver for the L4400 Series LXI Modules
-------------------------------------------------------
The instrument driver provides access to the functionality of the
Agilent L4400 Series LXI Module through a COM server which also complies
with the IVI specifications. This driver also presents an IVI-C driver via
the agl44xx.dll. This driver works in any development environment which
supports COM programming including Microsoft® Visual Basic, Microsoft
Visual C++, Microsoft .NET, Agilent VEE Pro, National Instruments LabVIEW,
National Instruments LabWindows, and others.
Supported Instruments
---------------------
Module:
L4421A
L4433A
L4437A
L4445A
L4450A
L4451A
L4452A
Installation
-------------
System Requirements: The driver installation will check for the
following requirements. If not found, the installer will either
abort, warn, or install the required component as appropriate.
Supported Operating Systems:
Windows NT® 4.0 (SP6 or later)
Windows® 2000
Windows XP
Shared Components
Before this driver can be installed, your computer must already
have several components already installed. The easiest way to
to install these other components is by running the Ivi Shared
Components installation package available from the IVI Foundation
as noted below. It installs all the items mentioned below.
IVI Shared Components version 1.1.3.0 or later.
The driver installer requires these components. They must be
installed before the driver installer can install the driver.
The IVI Shared Components installer is available from:
http://www.ivifoundation.org/Downloads/SharedComponents.htm
To install, open or run the file: IviSharedComponents.msi
If the driver installer exhibits problems with installing the IVI
Shared Components, find the program IviSharedComponents.msi and
Run the program. It is able to install many of the required system
components, including Windows Installer 2.0.
Windows Installer
Version 2.0 or later. The IVISharedComponents.exe program will
install version 2.0 of the Windows installer.
It is also available from:
For Win98/Me:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=32831
For WinNt4/2000/XP:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseId=32832
Microsoft XML 4.0
The Configuration Server, an IVI Shared Component, uses Microsoft's
XML 4.0 parser. The IVI Shared Components will install the XML 4.0
parser. You can download the parser and its associated SDK from:
http://microsoft.com/downloads
Enter "xml 4.0" as keywords.
Microsoft HTML Help Viewer (Win98, WinNT) Version 1.32 or later
The driver will install without the help viewer, but you will not
be able to use the help file for the driver. You can download the
help viewer from:
http://microsoft.com/downloads
Enter "html help workshop" as keywords
MS Windows® Script
Typically, wscript.exe is installed as part of the operating system
or with Internet Explorer. If you see an error about wscript.exe,
you need to install the Windows Script.
Download from:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads
Enter "windows script" as keywords. Use the one appropriate for
your Operating System.
VISA-COM
Any compliant implementation is acceptable. Typically, VISA-COM is
installed with VISA and other I/O library modules.
If you are using Agilent Technologies' VISA-COM, use
version 2.4.0.4 or later. The latest version of Agilent's IO
Libraries includes the required version of VISA-COM.
I/O
If you are using Agilent Technologies' IO Libraries, use version
M.01.01.04 or later. You can download the latest version from:
http://www.agilent.com/find/iolibsforivicom
If you are using National Instruments I/O libraries, use NI-VISA
version 3.0.1 or later and NI-488.2 version 2.2 or later.
Sending commands directly to the instrument (bypassing the driver)
via Direct IO using the System.IO interface will not work with Agilent
IO Libraries prior to Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0.
Note: This driver does not support simulation at this time.
National Instruments Switch Executive
If you intend to use the driver with NI Switch Executive, then
you must use version 2.0 or greater of that product.
Additional Setup
----------------
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework itself is not required by this driver. If you
plan to use the driver with .NET, Service Pack 2 is required.
Download from:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/downloads/updates/sp/default.asp
The .NET Framework requires an interop assembly for a COM
server. A Primary Interop Assembly, along with an XML file for
IntelliSense is installed with the driver. The driver's PIA, along
with IVI PIAs are installed, by default, in:
The PIA is also installed into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) if
you have the .NET framework installed.
If you install the .NET framework later, you can use the file:
to put the driver's PIA into the GAC and properly register it.
Start Menu Shortcuts
--------------------
A shortcut to the driver help file is added to the Start Menu,
Programs, IVI, AgilentL44XX group. It contains "Getting
Started" information on using the driver in a variety of programming
environments as well as documentation on IVI and instrument specific
methods and properties.
You will also see shortcuts to the Readme file and any programming
examples for this driver.
Help Files and Examples
------------
The IVI COM help file and IVI-C help are both combined into a single help file, AgilentL44XX.chm,
located in the directory:
Some getting started example programs are contained in the help files. For more
examples on programming the instrument, please see the instrument Web page at
www.agilent.com/find/L4400.
MSI Installer
-------------
The installation package for the driver is distributed as an MSI 2.0
file. You can install the driver by double-clicking on the file.
This operation actually runs:
msiexec /i AgilentL44XX.msi
You can run msiexec from a command prompt and utilize its many
command line options. There are no public properties which can be
set from the command line.
Uninstall
---------
This driver can be uninstalled like any other software from the
Control Panel using "Add or Remove Programs".
To uninstall the IVI Shared Components you must use the IVI Cleanup
Utility available from the IVI Foundation at:
http://www.ivifoundation.org/
Note: All IVI-COM drivers require the IVI Shared Components to
function. To completely remove IVI components from your computer,
uninstall all drivers then run the IVI Cleanup Utility. This utility
does not remove any IVI drivers.
Using a New Version of the Driver
---------------------------------
New versions of this Agilent IVI-COM driver may have a new
ProgId.
If you use the version dependent ProgId in CoCreateInstance,
you will need to modify and recompile your code to use the
new ProgID once you upgrade to the next version of the driver.
Doing a side-by-side installation of the driver to use multiple
versions of the driver is not supported. If you need to go back
to an older version of the driver, you need to uninstall the later
version and install the older version.
If you use the version independent ProgId in CoCreateInstance,
you will not need to modify and recompile your code. The new
version of the driver has been tested to be backwards compatible
with previous versions.
To access the new functionality in a new version of the driver
you will need to use the latest numbered IAgilent
interface rather than the IAgilent
IAgilent
to the new IAgilent
IAgilentN490x
properties for the new functionality. The new interfaces were
introduced rather than modifying the existing interfaces for
backwards compatibility. The interfaces that were previously
shipped have not been changed.
Known Issues
------------
The L44XXa has a lot of commands. Not all of them are incorporated into the IVI-COM or IVI-C driver. Both
IVI-C and IVI-COM have special methods which allow you to send SCPI commands and read responses from the
instrument. In the IVI-COM driver, in the "Core" interface, the "IAgilentL44XXSystem.IO Property" is used to
send commands and read responses. The following two lines of code show an example of how to use the IO
property:
myL44XX.System.IO.WriteString("*IDN?",true);
String respStr = myL44XX.System.IO.ReadString();
In the IVI-C driver, there are two routines that may be used to pass SCPI to the instrument and read the
response. The following two lines show an example of how to do this in the IVI-C driver:
ViInt32 respSize;
ViChar respStr[50];
status = agl44xx_SystemWrite(vi, "*IDN?");
status = agl44xx_SystemRead(vi, 50, respStr, &respSize);
A partial list of known commands that were not implemented in the IVI-COM driver is as follows:
ROUTe:CHAN:LABel:CLEar:MODule
ROUT:OPEN:ABUS
ROUT:OPERation:OVERlap
ROUT:SCAN:ADD
ROUT:SCAN:REMove
SYST:CDES?
SYST:MOD:PFAil:JUMPer:AMP5? -- used by the 34937A and 34938A General-Purpose Switch Modules
SYSTem:COMMunicate:GPIB:ADDRess
SYSTem:COMMunicate:GPIB:ADDRess?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:AUTOip
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:AUTOip?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:BSTatus?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:CONTrol?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:DHCP
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:DHCP?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:DNS
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:DNS?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:DOMain
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:DOMain?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:GATEway
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:GATEway?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:HISTory?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:HISTory:CLEar
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:HOSTname
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:HOSTname?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:IPADdress
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:IPADdress?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:KEEPalive
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:KEEPalive?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:MAC?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:SMASk
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:SMASk?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:TELNet:PROMpt
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:TELNet:PROMpt?
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:TELNet:WMESsage
SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN:TELNet:WMESsage?
Revision History
----------------
Version Date Notes
------- ------------ -----
1.0.0.00 Apr 18, 2006 Initial release
IVI Shared Component Revisions
------------------------------
1.3.2.4 IviConfigServer.dll
1.0.7.0 IviConfigServerCAPI.dll
1.1.0.0 IviCShared.dll
1.0.237.0 IviCSharedSupport.dll
2.0.0.0 IviDCPwrTypeLib.dll
3.0.0.0 IviDmmTypeLib.dll
1.0.0.0 IviDriverTypeLib.dll
1.1.1.0 IviEventServer.exe
1.1.1.0 IviEventServerDLL.dll
1.1.1.0 IviEventServerDLLps.dll
1.1.1.0 IviEventServerps.dll
3.0.0.0 IviFgenTypeLib.dll
1.0.236.0 IviFloat.dll
1.0.0.0 IviPwrMeterTypeLib.dll
1.1.0.0 IviRfSigGenTypeLib.dll
3.0.0.0 IviScopeTypeLib.dll
1.0.1.0 IviSessionFactory.dll
1.1.3.0 IviSharedComponentVersion.dll
1.0.0.0 IviSpecAnTypeLib.dll
3.0.0.0 IviSwtchTypeLib.dll
IVI Compliance
--------------
(The following information is required by IVI 3.1 section 5.21.)
IVI-COM Ivi Switch
IVI Instrument Class: IVI-4.6_Swtch_v3.0
Group Capabilities:
Supported: Unsupported
IviSwtchBase IviSwtchScanner
IviSwtchSoftwareTrigger
Optional Features: This driver does not support Interchangeability
Checking, State Caching, or Coercion Recording. The driver supports simulation
support ONLY for the IviSwtch interfaces. The simulation capabilities are designed primarily
to support NI Switch Executive (version 2.0 or greater).
Driver Identification:
(These three strings are values of properties in the IIviIdentity
interface.)
Vendor: Agilent Technologies.
Description: IVI-COM Driver for Agilent Technologies L44XX Multifunction Switch/Measure Unit.
Revision: 1.0
Component Identifier: AgilentL44XX.AgilentL44XX
(The component identifier can be used to create an instance of the COM
server.)
Hardware: This driver supports instruments manufactured by Agilent
Technologies. The supported model numbers are:
L44XX
This driver supports communicating with the instrument
using either GPIB or LAN.
Software: See the section on installation in this document for
information on what other software is required by this driver.
Source for this driver is not available.
More Information
----------------
For more information about this driver and other instrument drivers
and software available from Agilent Technologies visit:
http://www.agilent.com/find/adnivicominfo
A list of contact information is available from:
http://www.agilent.com/find/assist
Microsoft, Windows, MS Windows, and Windows NT are U.S.
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
© Copyright Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2004-2006