README.TXT for HP E3631A LightWave Switch Driver Revision A.01.00 March 8,1996 Contents: 1 Introduction 2 VTL/VISA Specific Information 2.1 Instrument Addresses 2.2 Using Callbacks and Soft Front Panel Timeouts 2.3 Read Status Byte 3 Using the HP E3631A Driver in Application Development Environments 3.1 Microsoft Visual C/C++ 3.2 Borland C/C++ 3.3 Microsoft Visual Basic 3.4 HP VEE 3.1 3.5 LabWindows/CVI 4.0 Known Defects 5.0 Online Information 6.0 Revision History - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction The help file included with the HP E3631A driver contains instrument and programming information. This readme file contains additional information for the HP VXIplug&play programmer. This HPE3631A driver conforms to all portions of the VXIplug&play driver standard which are applicable to conventional GP-IB and other non-VXI instruments (that is, rack and stack instruments). The formal VXIplug&play standard only covers VXI Instruments, and two elements of the standard do not apply to the hpe3631a since it is not a VXI instrument. First, there is no soft front panel, as the hpe3631a can be controlled from it's hardware front panel. Second, there is no knowledge base file, which is primarily a physical description of a VXI board. Aside from these exceptions, you'll find the same features in this driver as in HP's other VXIplug&play drivers. 1. Conformance with the VXIplug&play standard. The only exceptions are that it does not have a soft front panel or a knowledge base file. 2. It is built on top of, and uses the services provided by VTL and VISA 1.0. VTL and VISA support GP-IB and VXI protocols. The driver can be used with any GP-IB card for which the manufacturer has provided a VISA DLL. 3. It includes a "Function Panel" (.fp) file which allows it to be used with visual programming environments such as HP-VEE, LabWindows, and LabVIEW. 4. It includes a comprehensive on-line help file which complements the instrument manual. The help file presents application programming examples, a cross-reference between instrument commands and driver functions, and detailed documentation of each function, with examples. 5. Source is included so that the driver can be modified if desired. The source conforms to VXI Plug & Play standards. Modifications should only be done by people who are familiar with the VXIplug&play standard. 6. It includes a Visual Basic include file (.bas) which contains the function calls in Visual Basic syntax, so that driver functions can be called from Visual Basic. If you use Visual Basic with this driver, you should be familiar with C/C++ function declarations. In particular, care must be taken when working with C/C++ pointers. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. VTL/VISA Specific Information The following topics refer to instances when the driver is used with different versions of VTL. 2.1 Instrument Addresses When using HP VXIplug&play instrument drivers, instrument addresses must be all uppercase letters. Implementation of the addressing scheme is vendor specific and some vendors support mixed cases. However, for maximum portability, the instrument address should use uppercase characters only. For example: use "VXI0::56::INSTR" instead of "vxi0::56::instr" 2.2 Using Callbacks and Soft Front Panel Timeouts Use of the callback feature with National Instruments VTL on NI-MXI, NI Slot 0 GPIB-VXI systems, and on fast (e.g. 100 MHz) controllers is not recommended. The affected version is NI-VTL 3.0 implementation version 2.0. Use of the callback feature with Hewlett Packard VTL Revision 1.0.0 on the VXLink, the EPC-7 or the EPC-8 is not recommended. The Read Status Byte fix (see 2.3 below) will correct the callback problem when new VTL code from Hewlett Packard is used. 2.3 Read Status Byte Hewlett-Packard VTL Revision 1.0.0 has a defect with viReadSTB() when using VXLink, the EPC-7, or the EPC-8. A patched version of visa.dll is available which resolves this. The patch is available over anonymous ftp @hplvopen.lvld.hp.com in ~dist/pc/sicl/fix/visa.dll. The new visa.dll should replace the older visa.dll in the \windows\system directory. If you encounter problems or cannot access the internet, you can obtain copies from HP On-line Support at (970) 679-3030. The visa.dll version in HP VTL Revision 1.0.0 should have an installed date of May 2, 1995, is 110,112 bytes, and is revision 1.1.0. The patched visa.dll is revision 1.1.1. This patch will also allow the callback feature to be used on these controllers without error. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Using the HP E3631A Driver in Application Development Environments This section offers suggestions on using the hpe3631a.dll within various application development environments. 3.1 Microsoft Visual C/C++ Refer to your Microsoft Visual C/C++ manuals for information on linking and calling .DLLs. A.) Programs should be compiled and linked using the large memory model. B.) The driver uses Pascal calling conventions. C.) Rebuilding the driver DLL should be done in a different directory than the one the driver was installed in order to differentiate the changes. 3.2 Borland C/C++ Refer to your Borland C/C++ manuals for information on linking and calling .DLLs. A.) Programs should be compiled and linked using the large memory model. B.) The driver uses Pascal calling conventions. C.) Rebuilding the driver DLL should be done in a different directory than the one the driver was installed in order to differentiate the changes. 3.3 Microsoft Visual Basic Refer to the Microsoft Visual BASIC manual for information on calling DLLs. The BASIC include file is hpe3631a.bas, which is contained in the directory ~vxipnp\win\include. The ~ refers to the directory in the VXIPNP variable. By default this is set to C:\.You may also need to include the visa.bas file that comes with your VISA DLL. Note that Microsoft Visual BASIC does not support instrument callback features. Therefore, these functions have been omitted from the include file. 3.4 HP VEE FOR WINDOWS 3.1 Your copy of HP VEE for WINDOWS contains a document titled "Using VXIplug&play Drivers with HP VEE for Windows." This document contains the detailed information you need for HP VEE applications. 3.5 LabWindows CVI/(R) The HP E3631A driver is supplied as both a source code file and as a dynamic link library file (dll). There are several advantages to using the dll form of the driver. These include: 1. Transportability across different computer platforms 2. A higher level of support from Hewlett-Packard for the compiled driver 3. Faster load time for your project Labwindows/CVI (R) by default will attempt to load the source version of the instrument driver. To load the dll you must include the file hpe3631a.fp in your project. This file can be found in the vxipnp\win\hpe3631a directory. Do not include hpe3631a.c in your project. You must also provide an include path for hpe3631a.h. This is done by adding the directory ~vxipnp\win\include to the include paths (CVI Project Option menu) if you have not already done so. The ~ refers to the directory in the VXIPNP variable. By default this is set to C:\. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.0 Known Defects There are no known defects in the HP E3631A driver. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.0 Online Information The latest copy of this driver and other HP VXIplug&play drivers can be obtained via anonymous ftp from fcext3.external.hp.com in the directory dist/mxd/vxipnp/win/supported. The hpe3631a is located in a self-extracting archive file called e3631a.exe. If you do not have ftp access the driver can be obtained or by calling HP On-line Support at (970) 679-3030. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.0 Revision History A.01.00 March 8, 1996 Initial Release. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LabWindows/CVI is a registered trademark of National Instruments.