Treffer: The VISA I/O API & .NET.

This article discusses on Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA). The VISA is a vendor interchangeable standard for instrument communication developed by the VXIplug&play Systems Alliance. VISA identifies common input/output (I/O) application program interfaces (API) for communicating over a variety of bus interfaces including general instrumentation purpose bus, VXI, and serial interfaces. The VISA Standards body has specifications for API versions in C, COM, and other programming technologies--but currently not .NET. Consequently, Agilent Technologies has developed header files , help, and tutorials using VISA in C# and Visual Basic (VB) .NET. Anyone familiar with the C version of the VISA API should be comfortable with using the .NET header files. An I/O API is a s set of function that provide logical pipe to a device attached to the computer. I/O API permit PC/device communication via an arbitrary, typically string-based language defined by the device. The characteristic functions in an I/O API are Read and Write, usually taking sting parameters. Languages such as C# and VB .NET have different software reuse and function-calling mechanism than C/C++, .NET methods are still called through call stacks, but a new metadata format is used to describe the method signature, rather than the header files and .lib files in C/C++. INSETS: Accessing Unmanaged DLL Functions From .NET Languages;Variable Argument Lists in .NET and Unmanaged Interoperability.