National Instruments offers a variety of application software as well as driver and measurement services software. When combined with NI data acquisition hardware, this software provides the best option for quickly developing virtual instruments for measurement and control applications. Whether you want to minimize the effort in making your first measurement, create a custom driver for an OEM application, or develop applications on multiple operating systems, NI data acquisition software, including NI-DAQmx, provides an excellent solution.
Driver and Measurement Services Software Comparison
| |
NI-DAQmx |
NI-DAQmx Base |
Measurement Hardware DDK |
Traditional NI-DAQ |
| |
High-Performance Multithreaded Driver |
Basic DAQ Driver |
Custom Driver Development Tools |
Legacy DAQ Driver |
|---|
| Bus and OS Support |
|---|
PCI/PXI/
PCI Express/PXI Express |
Windows Vista x64, Windows Vista x86/XP/2000, Linux® |
Linux, Mac OS X |
Linux, Mac OS X, RTX, QNX, Intime |
Windows 2000/NT/XP |
| USB |
Windows Vista x64, Windows Vista x86/XP/2000 |
Linux, Mac OS X, Windows Mobile/CE |
Linux, Mac OS X, QNX, Windows Mobile/CE |
Windows 2000/XP |
| PCMCIA |
Windows XP/2000 |
Windows Mobile |
Windows Mobile |
Windows 2000/NT/XP |
| CompactFlash |
|
Windows Mobile |
|
|
| Programming Languages |
|---|
| Programming Languages |
LabVIEW, ANSI C/C++, C#, Visual Basic .NET, and Visual Basic |
LabVIEW, ANSI C |
LabVIEW, ANSI C |
LabVIEW, ANSI C, and Visual Basic |
| LabVIEW Interface |
Complete Polymorphic VIs and Property Nodes |
Limited polymorphic VIs |
Register-Level VIs |
Full Set of VIs |
| Additional Measurement Services |
|---|
| Development Speed |
 |
 |
 |
|
| DAQ Assistant Code Generation |
|
|
|
|
| Multithreaded I/O Performance |
|
|
|
|
| Driver Footprint |
|
|
|
|
| Test Panels |
|
|
|
|
| Automatic Scaling to Engineering Units |
|
|
|
|
| Single Programming Interface for All Hardware and I/O Types |
|
|
|
|
| Measurement Examples |
>3000 |
~30 |
~30 |
~1000 |
| Hardware Support (Complete Listing) |
|---|
| M Series |
• |
• |
• |
|
| S Series |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| E Series |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| B Series |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| USB DAQ |
• |
• |
|
• |
| NI CompactDAQ |
• |
|
|
|
| SC Series |
• |
|
|
|
| SCXI |
• |
|
|
• |
| DSA |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Digital I/O |
• |
• |
• |
• |
| Counter/Timers |
• |
|
• |
• |
| AO Devices |
• |
• |
• |
• |
KEY: Best, Better, Good, • Some devices supported.
DAQ Application Development Environment Comparison
| |
LabVIEW Development Systems |
LabVIEW SignalExpress |
LabWindowsTM/CVI |
Measurement Studio |
|---|
| Operating Systems |
Windows Vista x64, Windows Vista x86/XP/2000, Linux, Mac OS X |
Windows Vista x64, Windows Vista x86/XP/2000 |
Windows Vista x64, Windows Vista x86/XP/2000, Linux |
Windows Vista x64, Windows Vista x86/XP/2000 |
|---|
| Programming Environment |
Graphical |
No Programming |
ANSI C |
Visual C#, Visual Basic, Visual C++ |
| Analog I/O |
|
|
|
|
| Digital I/O |
|
|
|
|
| Counter/Timer I/O |
|
|
|
|
| Configuration-Based DAQ Assistant |
|
|
|
|
| Event-Driven Programming |
|
|
|
|
| Signal Processing Analysis |
|
|
|
|
| Mathematical Analysis |
|
|
|
|
| PID Control |
|
|
|
|
| Statistical Analysis |
|
|
|
|
| Database Connectivity |
|
|
|
|
| Sound and Vibration Analysis |
|
|
|
|
| Order Analysis |
|
|
|
|
| Integrated Data Management Tools |
|
|
|
|
| Cross-Platform Compatibility |
|
|
|
|
| Ease-of-Use Programming |
|
No Programming |
|
|
KEY: Best, Better, Good.
Return to the data acquisition software main page.
Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
