Data acquisition software - Do I need it?

[ap8888]

Please bear with me, as I am a beginning with LabView.

I hope to interface my hardware (Agilent OSA) with LabView to display waveforms from the hardware with low latency. As of now, I have LabView 8.5, MAX, and a GPIB-USB-HS cable (MAX recognizes my hardware when I connect it). Also, I have many device drivers that Agilent provided.

My question is: do I also need to purchase DAQ software that NI provides (i.e. NI-DAQmx)? I am unsure whether my materials are sufficient, or whether I need to purchase additional software. If so, please tell me why I would need that software.

Thank you,
Alex

[Dennis_Knutson]

No, you only need to install DAQmx if you are planning to use a data acquisition board from NI. You would not have to purchase it in any case. It comes with LabVIEW and the latest version is available for download.

[ap8888]

Thanks for your answer.

Now you mentioned in another thread that instrument drivers usually come with an "Example" VI; however, mine does not have such a file.

This prompts me to still wonder how one goes about creating a program from dozens of unassorted VI files (instrument drivers). Are there tutorials or examples that demonstrate how this is done?

[Dennis_Knutson]

There is some information at https://www.ni.com/en/support/downloads/instrument-drivers.html regarding how to develop a driver but a lot of what goes into creating an example or a full app, is just becoming familiar with the instrument itself and what all of the individual functions do. What I usually do is start with setting up an instrument manually to perform a specific function. When I have a driver, I then look through it to see what functions are there to duplicate that. Sometimes the function and control/indicator help is enough. Sometimes I have to look through the instrument programming manual and then search through the VIs to find the command I need.