Instrumentation system and method including an improved driver software architecture

• US 6,223,134 B1
• Filed: 09/03/1999
• Issued: 04/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Grey, James, Rust, Scott, Bellin, Jon
• Primary Examiner(s): Assouad, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): MILLER, CRAIG S
• Application Number:
  US09/389,996
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• Field of Search: 703/13, 703/27, 709/321-323, 709/324, 709/325-327, 702/90, 702/91, 702/104, 702/121-123
• US Class Current: 702/121
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines

Abstract

A system and method for controlling an instrumentation system, wherein the present invention includes an improved instrument driver software architecture. The instrument driver software architecture of the present invention provides a number of features, including instrument interchangeability, i.e., the use of interchangeable virtual instruments or interchangeable instrument drivers, improved performance, an improved attribute model, improved range checking, and improved simulation features, among others.

Claims

1. An instrumentation system including an improved instrument driver software architecture, the instrumentation system comprising:

a computer system comprising a CPU and memory;

at least one instrument coupled to the computer system, wherein the at least one instrument is of a first instrument class;

wherein the memory of the computer system stores;

a user application which controls the at least one instrument;

a class driver which is operable to control a class of instruments, wherein the class driver is operable to control instruments of said first instrument class, wherein said class driver includes generic functions for instruments of said first instrument class;

a specific instrument driver which is specific to said at least one instrument, wherein said specific instrument driver includes functions for controlling the instrument;

an interchangeable virtual instrument (IVI) engine which maintains a plurality of pointers to functions in said specific instrument driver;

wherein said user application includes calls to said generic functions of said class driver;

wherein said class driver receives said calls to said generic functions of said class driver, wherein, in response to a received call to a generic function in said class driver, said class driver is operable to obtain a pointer to a function in said specific instrument driver from said IVI engine and invoke said function in said specific instrument driver.

2. The instrumentation system of claim 1, wherein said IVI engine further includes attribute information corresponding to attributes of the specific instrument driver, wherein said attributes represent a state of the at least one instrument.

3. The instrumentation system of claim 1, wherein said class driver further defines attributes of said instruments of said first instrument class;

wherein said user application includes calls to get and set said attributes of said instruments of said first instrument class;

wherein said user application calls are operable to invoke a set attribute function and/or a get attribute function in said IVI engine to set and/or get attributes in the instrument.

4. The instrumentation system of claim 1,

wherein said user application includes calls to said functions in said specific instrument driver;

wherein one or more of said plurality of functions in said specific instrument driver include calls to a set attribute function and/or a get attribute function in said IVI engine;

wherein said IVI engine receives said calls to said set attribute function and/or said get attribute function from said specific instrument driver and is operable to execute said set attribute function and/or said get attribute function in said IVI engine to set and/or get attributes in the instrument.

5. The instrumentation system of claim 1, wherein said class driver includes an application programming interface (API) for instruments of said first instrument class.

6. The instrumentation system of claim 1, wherein said user application is operable to make calls directly to said functions in said specific instrument driver.

7. The instrumentation system of claim 1, wherein said generic functions are generic to other instruments of said first class;

wherein said specific instrument driver includes at least a subset of said generic functions, and wherein said specific instrument driver includes instrument-specific functions which are not generic to other instruments of said first class, wherein said class driver does not include said instrument-specific functions;

wherein the user application is operable to make calls directly to said instrument-specific functions in said specific instrument driver.

8. The instrumentation system of claim 7, wherein said generic functions in the class driver have names, wherein a significant portion of said names of said generic functions in said class driver are the same as names of said generic functions in the specific instrument driver.

9. The instrumentation system of claim 7, wherein the user application is operable to make calls directly to said generic functions in said specific instrument driver.

10. The instrumentation system of claim 1, wherein the user application is operable to invoke a single initialization function in said class driver to initialize the instrument;

wherein said user application is operable to make calls to said class functions in said class driver and wherein said user application is operable to make calls directly to said functions in said specific instrument driver after invoking said single initialization function.

11. The instrumentation system of claim 1, wherein said generic functions in the class driver include fundamental functions which are generic to all instruments of said first class and extension functions which are generic to most instruments of said first class.

12. A computer-implemented method for operating an instrumentation system, wherein the instrumentation system comprises a computer system comprising a CPU and memory, and at least one instrument coupled to the computer system, wherein the at least one instrument is of a first instrument class, the method comprising:

a user application making a call to a generic function of a class driver;

wherein the class driver is operable to control instruments of the first instrument class, wherein the class driver includes generic functions for instruments of the first instrument class;

the class driver receiving said call to the generic function;

the class driver obtaining a pointer to a function in a specific instrument driver from an interchangeable virtual instrument (IVI) engine, wherein the specific instrument driver is specific to the at least one instrument

the class driver invoking said function in said specific instrument driver.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12,

wherein the specific instrument driver is specific to said at least one instrument, wherein said specific instrument driver includes functions for controlling the instrument.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the IVI engine maintains a plurality of pointers to functions in said specific instrument driver.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein said IVI engine further includes attribute information corresponding to attributes of the specific driver, wherein said attributes represent a state of the at least one instrument.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein said class driver further defines attributes of said instruments of said first instrument class;

the method further comprising;

the user application making calls to get and/or set attributes of said at least one instruments of said first instrument class;

invoking a set attribute function and/or a get attribute function in said IVI engine to set and/or get attributes in the instrument in response to said calls to get and/or set attributes.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the specific instrument driver is specific to said at least one instrument, wherein said specific instrument driver includes functions for controlling the instrument, the method further comprising:

said user application making one or more calls to said functions in said specific instrument driver;

said functions in said instrument driver making calls to a set attribute function and/or a get attribute function in said IVI engine in response to said user application making one or more calls to said functions in said specific instrument driver;

said IVI engine receiving said calls to said set attribute function and/or said get attribute function from said specific instrument driver; and

executing said set attribute function and/or said get attribute function in said IVI engine to set and/or get attributes in the instrument.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:

said user application making calls directly to said functions in said specific instrument driver.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein said class driver includes an application programming interface (API) for instruments of said first instrument class.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein said generic functions are generic to other instruments of said first class;

wherein said specific instrument driver includes at least a subset of said generic functions, and wherein said specific instrument driver includes instrument-specific functions which are not generic to other instruments of said first class, wherein said class driver does not include said instrument-specific functions;

the method further comprising;

the user application making calls directly to said instrument-specific functions in said specific instrument driver.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, further comprising:

the user application making calls directly to said generic functions in said specific instrument driver.

22. An instrumentation system including an improved instrument driver software architecture, the instrumentation system comprising:

a computer system comprising a CPU and memory;

at least one instrument coupled to the computer system, wherein the at least one instrument is of a first instrument class;

wherein the memory of the computer system stores;

a user application which controls the at least one instrument;

a class driver which is operable to control a class of instruments, wherein the class driver is operable to control instruments of said first instrument class, wherein said class driver includes generic functions for instruments of said first instrument class;

a specific instrument driver which is specific to said at least one instrument, wherein said specific instrument driver includes functions for controlling the instrument;

an interchangeable virtual instrument (IVI) engine which maintains a plurality of pointers to functions in said specific instrument driver;

wherein the user application is operable to invoke a single initialization function in said class driver to initialize the instrument;

wherein said user application is operable to make calls to said generic functions in said class driver and wherein said user application is operable to make calls directly to said functions in said specific driver after invoking said single initialization function.

23. The instrumentation system of claim 22, wherein the class driver is operable to invoke a single initialization function in said specific driver to initialize the instrument in response to the user application invoking the single initialization function in said class driver.