HP st ard schematic

Contents

Agilent Standard Instrument Control Library

User’s Guide for Windows

Front Matter............................................................................................... 7

Notice... ....... ...... ....... .......................................................... ...... ..... 7

Warranty Information .................................................................... 7

U.S. Government Restricted Rights .............................................. 7

Trademark Information ................................. ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... 8

Printing History ............................................................................. 8

1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 9

What’s in This Guide?.................................................................. 11

SICL Overview.............................................................................13

2. Getting Started with SICL ................................................................. 15

Getting Started Using C...............................................................17

Getting Started Using Visual Basic..............................................23

3. Programming with SICL .................................................................... 25

Building a SICL Application ......................................................... 27

Opening a Communications Session........................................... 31

Sending I/O Commands ....................................... ...... ................. 35

Handling Asynchronou s Ev ents................................................... 5 5

Handling Errors..................... ...... ....... .......................................... 58

Using Locks ................................................................................. 64

4. Using SICL with GPIB ........................................................................ 69

Introduction.................................................................................. 71

Using GPIB Device Sessions ...................................................... 72

Using GPIB Interface Sessions ................................................... 78

Using GPIB Commander Sessions.............................................. 83

Writing GPIB Interrupt Handlers ..................................................85

5. Using SICL with GPIO ....................................................................... 89

Introduction.................................................................................. 91

Using GPIO Interface Sessions................................................... 94

6. Using SICL with VXI ......................................................................... 101

Introduction................................................................................ 103

Using VXI Device Sessions.......................................................105

Using VXI Interface Sessions.................................................... 117

Communicating with VME Devices............................................ 119

SICL Function Support with VXI................................................124

VXI Backplane Memory I/O Performance...................................127

Using VXI-Specific Interrupts......................................................131

7. Using SICL with RS-232 ...................................................................135

Introduction.................................................................................137

Using RS-232 Device Sessions..................................................141

Using RS-232 Interface Sessions...............................................146

8. Using SICL with LAN ........................................................................153

LAN Overview.............................................................................155

Using LAN-gatewayed Sessions................................................160

Using LAN Interface Sessions....................................................167

Using Locks and Threads over LAN...........................................169

Using Timeouts with LAN...........................................................171

9. Troubleshooting SICL Programs ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......175

SICL Error Codes .......................................................................177

Common Windows Problems.....................................................180

Common RS-232 Problems........................................................181

Common GPIO Problems...........................................................182

Common LAN Problems.............................................................184

10. More SICL Example Programs ......................................................189

Example: Oscillosope Program (C)............................................191

Example: Oscillosope Program (Visual Basic) ...........................199

11. SICL Language Reference .............................................................203

Introduction.................................................................................205

IBLOCKCOPY............................................................................207

IBLOCKMOVEX .........................................................................209

ICAUSEERR...............................................................................211

ICLEAR.......................................................................................212

ICLOSE ......................................................................................213

IDEREFPTR...............................................................................214

IFLUSH.......................................................................................215

IFREAD ......................................................................................217

IFWRITE.....................................................................................219

IGETADDR.................................................................................221

IGETDATA..................................................................................222

IGETDEVADDR..........................................................................223

IGETERRNO..............................................................................224

IGETERRSTR ............................................................................225

IGETGATEWAYTYPE................................................................226

IGETINTFSESS..........................................................................227

IGETINTFTYPE......................................................................... 228

IGETLOCKWAIT........................................................................ 229

IGETLU......................................................................................230

IGETLUINFO ............................................................................. 231

IGETLULIST .............................................................................. 233

IGETONERROR........................................................................ 234

IGETONINTR............................................................................. 235

IGETONSRQ ............................................................................. 236

IGETSESSTYPE ....................................................................... 237

IGETTERMCHR ........................................................................ 238

IGETTIMEOUT .......................................................................... 239

IGPIBATNCTL ........................................................................... 240

IGPIBBUSADDR........................................................................ 241

IGPIBBUSSTATUS.................................................................... 242

IGPIBGETT1DELAY.................................................................. 244

IGPIBLLO .................................................................................. 245

IGPIBPASSCTL.........................................................................246

IGPIBPPOLL.............................................................................. 247

IGPIBPPOLLCONFIG................................................................ 248

IGPIBPPOLLRESP....................................................................249

IGPIBRENCTL........................................................................... 250

IGPIBSENDCMD....................................................................... 251

IGPIBSETT1DELAY .................................................................. 252

IGPIOCTRL ............................................................................... 253

IGPIOGETWIDTH...................................................................... 257

IGPIOSETWIDTH...................................................................... 258

IGPIOSTAT................................................................................ 260

IHINT ......................................................................................... 263

IINTROFF .................................................................................. 265

IINTRON.................................................................................... 266

ILANGETTIMEOUT ................................................................... 267

ILANTIMEOUT........................................................................... 268

ILOCAL...................................................................................... 271

ILOCK........................................................................................ 272

IMAP.......................................................................................... 275

IMAPX........................................................................................ 278

IMAPINFO ................................................................................. 281

IONERROR ............................................................................... 283

IONINTR.................................................................................... 286

IONSRQ..................................................................................... 288

IOPEN........................................................................................ 289

IPEEK ........................................................................................ 291

IPEEKX8, IPEEKX16, IPEEKX32..............................................292

IPOKE........................................................................................293

IPOKEX8, IPOKEX16, IPOKEX 32 .............................................294

IPOPFIFO................................................... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......295

IPRINTF............................ ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......297

IPROMPTF.......................................................................... .......307

IPUSHFIFO ............................ ....... ...... ....... ................................308

IREAD........................ ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......310

IREADSTB........................ ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... .......................... 31 2

IREMOTE......................................................... ...... ....... ...... .......313

ISCANF ............................ ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... .......................... 31 4

ISERIALBREAK......... ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... .............324

ISERIALCTRL ........................ ....... .............................................325

ISERIALMCLCTRL..................................... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......328

ISERIALMCLSTAT.... ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....................32 9

ISERIALSTAT............ ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......330

ISETBUF .......................... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....................33 4

ISETDATA........................ ..........................................................336

ISETINTR......................................................... ...... ....... ...... .......337

ISETLOCKWAIT......................................... ...... .......................... 34 4

ISETSTB.............. ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......345

ISETUBUF.................................................. ...... ...... ....... ...... .......346

ISWAP....................... .......................................................... .......348

ITERMCHR....................... ...... ....................................................350

ITIMEOUT ..................................................................................351

ITRIGGER........................................................ ...... ....... ...... .......352

IUNLOCK.......................... ...... ....................................................354

IUNMAP..................... ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......355

IUNMAPX......................................................... ...... ....... .............357

IVERSION ........................ ...... ....... ...... ....... ................................359

IVXIBUSSTATUS ............................................. ...... ....... ...... .......360

IVXIGETTRIGROUTE ...................................... ...... ....... ...... .......363

IVXIRMINFO.............. ....... ...... ....... .............................................364

IVXISERVANTS ............... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......367

IVXITRIGOFF............ ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......368

IVXITRIGON........................................ ....... ...... ...... ....... .............370

IVXITRIGROUTE................................................................. .......372

IVXIWAITNORMOP... ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......374

IVXIWS...................... .......................................................... .......375

IWAITHDLR................................................ ...... ...... ....... ...... .......377

IWRITE...................... ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... ...... .......379

IXTRIG....................... ....... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... .............381

_SICLCLEANUP............... ...... ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....................38 4

A. SICL System Information .............................................................. 385

Windows 95/Windows 98........................................................... 387

Windows NT/Windows 2000...................................................... 389

B. Porting to Visual Basic .................................................................. 391

C. SICL Error Codes ..........................................................................393

D. SICL Function Summary ............................................................... 397

E. RS-232 Cables ................................................................................ 403

Cable/Adapter Part Numbers..................................................... 405

Cable/Adapter Pinouts...............................................................407

Glossary ............................................................................................... 415

Index ...................................................................................................... 419

Notice

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Agilent Technologies shall not be liable for any errors contained in this document.

regard to this document, whether express or implied. Agilent Technologies specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, whether based on contract, tort, or any other legal theory, in connection with the furnishing of this document or the use of the information in this document.

Agilent Technologies makes no warranties of any kind with

Agilent Technologies shall not be liable for any

Warranty Information

A copy of the specific warranty terms applicable to your Agilent T echnologies product and replacement parts can be obtained from Agilent Technologies, Inc.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights

The Software and Documentation have been developed entirely at private expense. They are delivered and licensed as "commercial computer software" as defined in DFARS 252.227- 7013 (Oct 1988), DFARS 252.2117015 (May 1991) or DFARS 252.227-7014 (Jun 1995), as a "commercial item" as defined in FAR 2.101(a), or as "Restricted computer software" as defined in FAR 52.227-19 (Jun 1987)(or any equivalent agency regulation or contract clause), whichever is applicable. You have only those rights provided for such Software and Documentation by the applicable FAR or DFARS clause or the Agilent standard software agreement for the product involved.

Trademark Information

Microsoft®, Windows ® 95, Windows ® 98, Windows ® 2000, and Windows NT® are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Printing History

Edition 1 - April 1994 Edition 2 - September 1995 Edition 3 - May 1996 Edition 4 - October 1996 Edition 5 - July 2000

Agilent Technologies Standard Instrument Control Library

User’s Guide for Windows

Edition 5

Introduction

This

Agilent Standard Instrument Control Libraries (SICL) User’s Guide

for Windows

applications on Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000. A getting started chapter is provided to help you write and run your first SICL program. Then, this guide explains how to build and program SICL applications. Later chapters are interface-specific, describing how to use SICL with GPIB, GPIO, VXI, RS-232, and LAN interfaces.

NOTE

Before you can use SICL, you must install and configure SICL on your computer. See the

Guide for Windows

otherwise indicated, Windows NT refers to Windows NT 4.0.

If You Need Help:

n In the USA and Canada, you can reach Agilent Technologies at

describes Agilent SICL and how to use it to develop I/O

Agilent IO Libraries Installation and Configuration

for installation on Windows systems. Unless

these telephone numbers:

USA: 1-800-452-4844

Canada: 1-877-894-4414

n Outside the USA and Canada, contact your country’s Agilent support

organization. A list of contact information for other countries is available on the Agilent web site:

http://www.agilent.com/find/assist

10 Chapter 1

Introduction

What’s in This Guide?

This chapter provides an overview of SICL. In addition, this guide contains the following chapters:

Chapter 2 - Getting Started with SICL

an example program in C/C++ and Visual BASIC.

Chapter 3 - Programming with SICL

application in a Windows environment and provides information on communications sessions, addressing, error handling, locking, etc..

Chapter 4 - Using SICL with GPIB

the GPIB interface.

Chapter 5 - Using SICL with GPIO

the GPIO interface.

Chapter 6 - Using SICL with VXI

the VXIbus interface.

shows how to build and run

shows how to build a SICL

shows how to communicate over

Chapter 7 - Using SICL with RS-232

over the RS-232 interface.

Chapter 8 - Using SICL with LAN

a Local Area Network (LAN).

Chapter 9 - Troubleshooting SICL Programs

common SICL programming problems and provides troubleshooting procedures.

Chapter 10 - More SICL Example Programs

example programs to help you develop SICL applications.

Chapter 11 - SICL Language Reference

and description for each SICL function.

Appendix A - SICL System Information

SICL software files and system interaction.

Chapter 1 11

shows how to communicate

shows how to communicate over

describes some

contains additional

provides function syntax

provides information on

Introduction

What’s in This Guide?

Appendix B - Porting to Visual Basic

applications from earlier versions of Visual Basic (such as version

3.0) to Visual Basic version 4.0 and above.

Appendix C - SICL Error Codes

error strings along with a brief description of each error.

Appendix D - SICL Function Summary

features for each SICL function.

Appendix E - RS-232 Cables

diagrams for several RS-232 cables.

Glossary

includes major terms and definitions used in this guide.

explains how to move SICL

provides a list of error codes and

summarizes supported

lists part numbers and shows wiring

12 Chapter 1

Introduction

SICL Overview

SICL is part of the Agilent IO Libraries. The Agilent IO Libraries consists of two libraries:

Agilent Standard Instrument Control Library (SICL).

Introducing VISA and SICL

n Agilent Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA) is an I/O

Agilent Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA)

library designed according to the VXI allows software developed from different vendors to run on the same system.

plug&play

System Allian c e t h at

and

n Use VISA if y ou wa nt t o use VXI

applications, or if you want the I/O applications or instrument drivers that you develop to be compliant with VXI are using new instruments or are developing new I/O applications or instrument drivers, we recommend you use Agilent VISA.

plug&play

instrument drivers in your

plug&play

standards. If you

n Agilent Standard Instrument Control Library (SICL) is an I/O library

developed by Hewlett-Packard and Agilent that is portable across many I/O interfaces and systems.

n You can use Agilent SICL if you have been using SICL and want to

remain compatible with software currently implemented in SICL.

NOTE

Since VISA and SICL are different libraries, using VISA functions and SICL functions in the same I/O application is not supported.

SICL Description

Agilent Standard Instrument Control Library (SICL) is an I/O library developed by Hewlett-Packard and Agilent that is portable across many I/O interfaces and systems. SICL is a modular instrument communications library that works with a variety of computer architectures, I/O interfaces, and operating systems. Applications written in C/C++ or Visual BASIC using this library can be ported at the source code level from one system to another with no (or very few) changes.

Chapter 1 13

Introduction

SICL Overview

SICL uses standard, commonly used functions to communicate over a wide variety of interfaces. For example, a program written to communicate with a particular instrument on a given interface can also communicate with an equivalent instrument on a different type of interfac e.

6,&/6XSSRUW The 32-bit version of SICL is supported on this version of the Agilent IO

Libraries for Windows 95, Windows 98, Wi ndo ws NT, and Windows 2000. Support for the 16-bit version of SICL was removed in version H.01.00. However, versions through G.02.02 support 16-bit SICL. C, C++, and Visual BASIC are supported on all these Windows versions. SICL is supported on the GPIB, GPIO, VXI, RS-232, and LAN interfaces.

6,&/8VHUV SICL is intended for instrument I/O and C/C++ or Visual BASIC

programmers who are familiar with Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT. To perform SICL installation and configuration on Windows NT, you must have system administrator privileges on the Windows NT system.

6,&/ 'RFXPHQWDWLRQ

This table shows associated documentation you can use when programming with Agilent SICL.

Document Description

Agilent SICL User’s Guide for Windows

SICL Online Help SICL Example Programs

VXIbus Consortium specifications (when using VISA over LAN)

Agilent SICL Documentation

Shows how to use Agilent SICL and provides the SICL language reference.

Information is provided in the form of Windows Help. Example programs are provided online to help you develop

SICL applications. SICL ex ample programs are provided in the C\SAMPLES (for C/C++) subdirectory and in the VB\SAMPLES subdirectory (for Visual BASIC) under the base directory where SICL is installed. For example, under the C:\SICL95 or C:\SICLNT base directory if the default installation directory was used.

TCP/IP Instrument Protocol Specification TCP/IP-VXIbus Interface Specification TCP/IP-IEEE 488.1 Interface Specification TCP/IP-IEEE 488.2 Instrument Interface Specification

Rev. 1.0

- VXI-11, Rev. 1.0

- VXI-11.1, Rev. 1.0

- VXI-11.2, Rev. 1.0

- VXI-11.3,

14 Chapter 1

Getting Started with SICL

This chapter gives guidelines to help you to get started programming with SICL using the C/C++ language. This chapter provides example programs in C/C++ and in Visual Basic to help you verify your configuration and

introduce you to some of SICL’s basic features. The chapter contents are:

n Getting Started Using C n Getting Started Using Visual Basic

NOTE

This chapter is divided into two sections: the first section is for C programmers and the second section is for Visual BASIC programmers. See “Getting Started Using C” if you want to use SICL with the C/C++ programming language. See “Getting Started Using Visual Basic” if you want to use SICL with the Visual BASIC programming language.

You may want to see familiarize yourself with SICL functions. This reference information is also available as online help. To see the reference information online, doubleclick the Help icon in the

16 Chapter 2

Chapter 11 - SICL Language Reference

Agilent IO Libraries program group.

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using C

This section describes an example program called IDN that queries a GPIB instrument for its identification string. This example builds a console application for WIN32 programs (32-bit SICL programs on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT) using the C programming language.

C Program Example Code

All files used to develop SICL applications in C or C++ are located in the

C subdirectory of the base IO Libraries directory. Sample C/C++

programs are located in the C\SAMPLES subdirectory of the base IO Libraries directory.

Each sample program subdirectory contains makefiles or project files that you can use to build each sample C program. You must first compile the sample C/C++ programs before you can execute them.

The IDN example files are located in the C\SAMPLES\IDN subdirectory under the base IO Libraries directory. This subdirectory contains the source program, IDN.C. The source file IDN.C is listed on the following pages. An explanation of the function calls in the example follows the program listing.

/* This program uses the Standard Instrument Control Library to

query a GPIB instrument for an identification string and then prints the result. This program is to be built as a WIN32 console application on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT. Edit the DEVICE_ADDRESS line to specify the address of the applicable device. For example:

hpib7,0: refers to a GPIB device at bus address 0 connected to

an interface named “hpib7” by the IO Config utility.

hpib7,9,0: refers to a GPIB device at bus address 9, secondary

address 0, connected to an interface named “hpib7” by the IO Config utility. */

#include <stdio.h> /* for printf() */ #include “sicl.h” /* SICL routines */ #define DEVICE_ADDRESS “hpib7,0” /* Modify to match your setup */

Chapter 2 17

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using C

void main(void) { INST id; /* device session id */ char buf[256] = { 0 }; /* read buffer for idn string */

#if defined(__BORLANDC__) && !defined(__WIN32__)

_InitEasyWin();// required for Borland EasyWin programs.

#endif

/* Install a default SICL error handler that logs an error message and exits.

On Windows 95 or Windows 98, view messages with the SICL Message Viewer, and on Windows 2000 or Windows NT use the Event Viewer. */

ionerror(I_ERROR_EXIT);

/* Open a device session using the DEVICE_ADDRESS */ id = iopen(DEVICE_ADDRESS);

/* Set the I/O timeout value for this session to 1 second */ itimeout(id, 1000);

/* Write the *RST string (and send an EOI indicator) to put the instrument

into a known state. */

iprintf(id, “*RST\n”);

/* Write the *IDN? string and send an EOI indicator, then read the response

into buf. ipromptf(id, “*IDN?\n”, “%t”, buf); printf(“%s\n”, buf); iclose(id);

/* This call is a no-op for WIN32 programs.*/ _siclcleanup(); }

18 Chapter 2

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using C

C Example Code Description

sicl.h. The sicl.h file is included at the beginning of the file to provide the

function prototypes and constants defined by SICL.

INST. Notice the declaration of INST INST is defined by SICL and is used to represent a unique identifier that will

describe the specific device or interface that you are communicating with. The

is set by the return value of the SICL iopen call and will be set to 0

if iopen fails for any reason.

ionerror. The first SICL call, ionerror, installs a default error handling routine that is automatically called if any of the subsequent SICL calls result in an error. I_ERROR_EXIT specifies a built-in error handler that will print out a message about the error and then exit the program. If desired, a custom error handling routine could be specified instead.

NOTE

at the beginning of main. The type

On Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows 2000, error messages may be viewed by executing the Message Viewer utility in the Agilent IO Libraries program group. On Windows NT, these messages may be viewed with the Event Viewer utility in the Agilent IO Libraries Control on the taskbar.

iopen. When an iopen call is made, the parameter string ”hpib7,0” passed to iopen specifies the GPIB interface followed by the bus address of the instrument. The interface name, ”hpib7”, is the name given to the interface during execution of the IO Config utility. The bus (primary) address of the instrument follows (”0” in this case) and is typically set with switches on the instrument or from the front panel of the instrument.

NOTE

To modify the program to set the interface name and instrument address to those applicable for your setup, see

SICL

for information on using SICL’s addressing capabilities.

Chapter 2 19

Chapter 3 - Programming with

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using C

itimeout. itimeout is called to set the length of time (in milliseconds) that

SICL will wait for an instrument to respond. The specified value will depend on the needs of your configuration. Different timeout values can be set for different sessions as needed.

iprintf and ipromptf. SICL provides formatted I/O functions that are patterned after those used in the C programming language. These SICL functions support the standard ANSI C format strings, plus additional formats defined specifically for instrument I/O.

The SICL iprintf call sends the Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) command *RST to the instrument that puts it in a known state. Then, ipromptf queries the instrument for its identification string. The string is read back into buf and then printed to the screen. (Separate iprintf and iscanf calls could have been used to perform this operation.)

The %t read format string specifies that an ASCII string is to be read back, with end indicator termination. SICL automatically handles all addressing and GPIB bus management necessary to perform these reads and writes to instrument.

iclose and _siclcleanup. The iclose function closes the device session to this instrument ( Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT do not require the _siclcleanup call.

NOTE

See

Chapter 11 - SICL Language Reference

more information on these SICL function calls.

20 Chapter 2

is no longer valid after this point). WIN32 programs on

or the SICL online Help for

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using C

Compiling the C Example Program

The C\SAMPLES\IDN subdirectory contains a number of files you can use to build the example with specific compilers. You will have a subset of the following files, depending on the Windows environment you are using.

IDN.C Example program source file. IDN.DEF Module definition file for the IDN example program. MSCIDN.MAK Windows 3.1 makefile for Microsoft C and Microsoft

SDK compilers.

VCIDN.MAK Windows 3.1 project file for Microsoft Visual C++. VCIDN32.MAK Windows 95 or Windows NT (32-bit) project file for

Microsoft Visual C++.

VCIDN16.MAK Windows 95 (16-bit) project file for Microsoft Vi sual

C++.

QCIDN.MAK Windows 3.1 project file for Microsoft QuickC for

Windows.

BCIDN.IDE Windows 3.1 project file for Borland C Integrated

Development Environment.

BCIDN32.IDE Windows 95 or Windows NT (32-bit) project file for

Borland C Integrated Development Environment.

BCIDN16.IDE Windows 95 (16-bit) project file for Borland C Integra ted

Development Environment.

Steps to compile the IDN example program follow.

1. Connect an instrument to a GPIB interface that is compatible with IEEE 488.2.

2. Change directories to the location of the example.

3. The program assumes the GPIB interface name is hpib7 (s e t using IO Config) and the instrument is at bus address 0. If necessary, modify the interface name and instrument address on the DEVICE_ADDRESS definition line in the IDN.C source file.

Chapter 2 21

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using C

4. Select and load the appropriate project or make file. Then, compile the program as follows:

q For Borland compilers, use Project | Open Project.

Then, select Project | Build All.

q For Microsoft compilers, use Project | Open. Next, set

the include file path by selecting Options | Directories. Then, in the Include File Path box, enter the full path to the C subdirectory. Finally, select Project | Re-build All.

Running the C Example Program

To run the IDN example program, execute the program from a console command prompt.

n For Borland, select Run | Run n For Microsoft, select Project | Execute or Run | Go

If the program runs correctly, an example of the output if connected to a 54601A oscilloscope is

HEWLETT-PACKARD,54601A,0,1.7

If the program does not run, see the message logger for a list of run-time errors, and see correct the problem.

Chapter 9 - Troubleshooting SICL Programs

for guidelines to

Where to Go Next

Go to

Chapter 3 - Programming with SICL

chapter(s) that describe how to use SICL with your specific interface(s):

Chapter 4 - Using SICL with GPIB

Chapter 5 - Using SICL with GPIO

Chapter 6 - Using SICL with VXI

Chapter 7 - Using SICL with RS-232

Chapter 8 - Using SICL with LAN

You may also want to familiarize yourself with SICL functions, defined in

Chapter 11 - SICL Language Reference

provided in SICL online Help. If you have any problems, see

Troubleshooting SICL Programs

22 Chapter 2

. In addition, you should see the

and in the reference information

Chapter 9 -

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using Visual Basic

There is a collection of Visual Basic sample programs in the VB\SAMPLES subdirectory of the base IO Libraries directory. See these programs as examples of using SICL with Visual Basic.

Be sure to include the sicl4.bas file (in the VB directory) in your Visual Basic project. This file contains the necessary SICL definitions, function prototypes, and support procedures to allow you to call SICL functions from Visual Basic.

Where to Go Next

Go to

Chapter 3 - Programming with SICL

chapter(s) that describe how to use SICL with your specific interface(s):

Chapter 4 - Using SICL with GPIB

Chapter 5 - Using SICL with GPIO

Chapter 6 - Using SICL with VXI

Chapter 7 - Using SICL with RS-232

Chapter 8 - Using SICL with LAN

. In addition, you should see the

You may also want to familiarize yourself with SICL functions, defined in

Chapter 11 - SICL Language Reference

provided in SICL online Help. If you have any problems, see

Troubleshooting SICL Programs

Chapter 2 23

and in the reference information

Chapter 9 -

Notes:

Getting Started with SICL

Getting Started Using Visual Basic

24 Chapter 2

Programming with SICL

This chapter describes how to build a SICL application and then describes SICL programming techniques. Example programs are also provided to help you develop SICL applications. The chapter includes:

n Building a SICL Application n Opening a Communications Session n Sending I/O Commands n Handling Asynchronous Events n Handling Errors n Using Locks

NOTE

Copies of the example programs are located in the C\SAMPLES\MISC subdirectory (for C/C++) or in the VB\SAMPLES\MISC subdirectory (for Visual Basic) under the base IO Libraries directory. For details on SICL functions, see online Help.

Chapter 11 - SICL Language Reference

or SICL

26 Chapter 3

Programming with SICL

Building a SICL Application

This section gives guidelines to build a SICL application in a Windows environment.

Including the SICL Declaration File

For C and C++ programs, you must include the sicl.h header file at the beginning of every file that contains SICL function calls. This header file contains the SICL function prototypes and the definitions for all SICL constants and error codes.

#include “sicl.h”

For Visual Basic version 3.0 or earlier programs, you must add the SICL.BAS file to each project that calls SICL. For Visual Basic version 4.0 or later programs, you must add the SICL4.BAS file to each project that calls SICL.

Libraries for C Applications and DLLs

All WIN32 applications and DLLs that use SICL must link to the SICL32.LIB import library. (Borland compilers use BCSICL32.DLL.)

The SICL libraries are located in the C directory under the IO Libraries base directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Agilent\IO Libraries\C if you installed SICL in the default location). You may want to add this directory to the library file path used by your language tools.

Use the DLL version of the C run-time libraries, because the run-time libraries contain global variables that must be shared between your application and the SICL DLL.

If you use the static version of the C run-time libraries, these global variables will not be shared and unpredictable results could occur. For example, if you use isscanf with the %F format, an application error will occur. The following sections describe how to use the DLL versions of the run-time libraries.

Chapter 3 27

Programming with SICL

Building a SICL Application

Compiling and Linking C Applications

A summary of important compiler-specific considerations follows for several C/C++ compiler products when developing WIN32 applications.

NOTE

If you are using a version of the Microsoft or Borland compilers other than those listed in this subsection, the menu structure and selections may be different than indicated here. However, the equivalent functionality exists for your specific version.

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1. Select Project | Settings or Build | Settings from

the menu (depending on the version of your compiler).

2. Click the C/C++ button. Then, select Code Generation from

the Category list box and select Multithreaded Using DLL from the Use Run-Time Library list box. Click OK to close the dialog box.

3. Select Project | Settings or Build | Settings from

the menu. Click the Link button. Then, add sicl32.lib to the Object/Library Modules list box. Click OK to close the dialog box.

4. You may want to add the SICL C directory (for example,

C:\Program Files\Agilent\IO Libraries\C to the include file and library file search paths. To do this, select Tools | Options from the menu and click the Directories button. Then:

q To set the include file path, select Include Files from

the Show Directories for: list box. Next, click the Add button and type in C:\Program Files\Agilent\IO Libraries\C. Then, click OK.

q To set the library file path, select Library Files from the

Show Directories for: list box. Next, click the Add button and type in C:\Program Files\Agilent\IO Libraries\C. Then, click OK.

28 Chapter 3

Programming with SICL

Building a SICL Application

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1. Link your programs with BCSICL32.LIB, BCSICL32.LIB is located in the C subdirectory under the SICL base directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Agilent\ IO Libraries\C if SICL is installed in the default location).

2. Edit the BCC32.CFG and TLINK32.CFG files, which are located in the BIN subdirectory of the Borland C installation directory.

not

SICL32.LIB.

q Add the following line to BCC32.CFG so the compi le r can find

the sicl.h file:

where

-IC:\

IO_base_dir

is the IO Libraries base directory.

q Add the following line to both files so the compiler and linker

can find BCSICL32.LIB:

where

IO_base_dir

-LC:\

IO_base_dir

is the IO Libraries base directory.

q For example, to create MYPROG.EXE from MYPROG.C, type:

BCC32 MYPROG.C BCSICL32.LIB

Loading and Running Visual Basic Applications

To load and run an existing Visual Basic application, first run Visual Basic. Then, open the project file for the program you want to run by selecting File | Open Project from the Visual Basic menu. Visual Basic project files have a .MAK file extension. After you haved opened the application’s

project file, you can run the application by pressing the Visual Basic Toolbar.

You can create a standalone executable (.EXE) version of this program by selecting File | Make EXE File from the Visual Basic menu. Once this is done, the application can be run stand-alone (just like any other .EXE file) without having to run Visual Basic.

Chapter 3 29

F5 or the Run button on

Programming with SICL

Building a SICL Application

Thread Support for 32-bit Windows Applications

SICL can be used in multi-threaded designs and SICL calls can be made from multiple threads, in WIN32 applications. However, there are some important points:

n SICL error handlers (installed with ionerror) are

(not per thread) but are called in the context of the thread that caused the error to occur. Calling ionerror from one thread will overwrite any error handler presently installed by another thread.

per process

n The igeterrno is per thread and returns the last SICL error that

occurred in the current thread.

n You may want to make use of the SICL session locking functions

(ilock and iunlock) to help coordinate common instrument accesses from more than one thread.

n See

Chapter 8 - Using SICL with LAN

using SICL with LAN.

for thread information when

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