NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2 Copyright 2004 National Instruments Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This file contains release notes, patent information, and last-minute information for NI-488.2 for Windows. Information in this file is too recent to be included in the official documentation set. Release Notes ------------- NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, is the latest driver offering from National Instruments. Every attempt has been made to maintain backward compatibility with the installed base of existing NI-488.2 applications. Supported Interfaces -------------------- NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, supports the following hardware on Windows 2000/XP/Me/98. AT-GPIB/TNT(PnP) (NEW) GPIB-ENET/100 GPIB-USB-A GPIB-USB-B GPIB-USB-HS PCI-GPIB PCI-GPIB+ PCI-GPIB/LP PCI-8212 PCI Express(TM) Interface for GPIB (NEW) PCMCIA-GPIB PCMCIA-GPIB+ PMC-GPIB PXI-GPIB PXI-8212 PXI-8232 Robust Multithreaded/Multiprocess Behavior ------------------------------------------ With NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, multithreaded behavior is consistent across platforms. Refer to Application Note 101, "Developing Multithreaded GPIB Applications using NI-488.2," for full information on the multithreaded/multiprocess behavior in NI-488.2, Version 2.2. This Application Note is available from our website, ni.com. Enhancements and Bugfixes in Version 2.2 ------------------------------------------ AT-GPIB/TNT(PnP) - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds support for the AT-GPIB/TNT(PnP) interface. PCI Express(TM) Interface for GPIB - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds support for the PCI Express(TM) Interface for GPIB. Power Management - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds the EPWR error code. This error indicates that the interface lost power. This may occur when the system goes to standby or hibernate mode. The NI-488.2 driver attempts to prevent the system from going to standby or hibernate if there is an application with an open NI-488.2 handle. .NET Support - National Instruments provides two interfaces for developing GPIB-based applications in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 or later: 1) the native .NET API and 2) the NI-488.2 wrapper interface. We recommend the native .NET API as the preferred method of developing GPIB .NET applications because of its superior integration into the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET IDE. The native .NET API can be installed from the NI-488.2 CD by selecting it from the custom installation section. It is installed in the "National Instruments\Measurement Studio" sub-directory. Full integrated help for this API is available inside the Visual Studio .NET environment. The NI-488.2 wrapper interface can be found on the CD in the "Microsoft .NET Language Interface" directory. New ibask option - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, adds the IbaSerialNumber option to ibask. This allows customers to query the serial number of the board that they are using. The ibask call will return a 32-bit serial number for supported interfaces. The driver will return with ERR bit set in ibsta, and iberr set to ECAP for unsupported interfaces. This feature is not supported with the Visual Basic language interface. The VB language interface for ibask does not handle unsigned 32-bit numbers. Older National Instruments PCMCIA-GPIB devices would not enumerate properly with the 2.1 driver. This has been fixed. The driver would sometimes not call the ibnotify callback, or call the ibnotify callback improperly when waiting for RQS. This has been fixed. The driver would hang if a device-level ibconfig was called with IbcSPollTime, IbcPAD, or IbcSAD when an ibnotify call on the same device descriptor was in progress. This has been fixed. The driver had a small memory leak when being used by VISA. This has been fixed. The GPIB Analyzer application would crash when launched with some video cards. This has been fixed. Enabling DOS support worked improperly when logging in as a different user that it was enabled as. This has been fixed. Enhancements in Version 2.1 ------------------------------------------ PCMCIA-GPIB - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.1, adds support for the PCMCIA-GPIB interface. Following the precedent of Version 2.0 of the driver which unified the driver for the PCI, ENET, and USB interfaces, this version ensures that those interfaces along with the PCMCIA-GPIB can function simultaneously with the same driver. Analyzer - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.1, supports the GPIB analyzer portion of the PCI-GPIB+ and PCMCIA-GPIB+ on the Windows 2000 and XP operating systems. This support was previously only available on Windows NT, 98, and 95. Enhancements in Version 2.0 --------------------------- Installer - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, improves the installation experience for the user. Windows 2000/XP - In the past, there were separate drivers for plug-in interface boards (PCI-GPIB, etc.), the GPIB-ENET family, and the GPIB-USB-A. Only one of these three could be installed and used at any one time. NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, removes this restriction. All supported interfaces function simultaneously with the same driver. Windows 2000/XP - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, resolves the issue that prevents users running the software in USER mode (as opposed to ADMINISTRATOR mode). Internationalized Software Support - NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.0, offers an improved localized solution in Japanese. Win16 and DOS Support --------------------- NI-488.2 for Windows, Version 2.2, does not support Win16 applications for Windows Me/9x platforms. Win16 support is available under Windows 2000 and Windows XP. To use these applications under Windows 9x/Me, you must use a previous version of NI-488.2 for Windows. DOS support is available on all operating systems supported by this driver. Device Templates and DOS Applications for Windows Me/98 ------------------------------------------------------- Existing DOS-based NI-488.2 applications may use device templates to access GPIB devices. If you make changes to the device templates on a Windows Me/98 system, you must restart Windows before the changes are available to DOS applications. Patent Information ------------------ For patents covering National Instruments products, refer to the appropriate location: Help>>Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your CD, or ni.com/patents.