Once the software is installed, the following tools and software components are available:
GXFPGA Panel – Configures and controls the GXFPGA board various features via an interactive user interface.
GXFPGA driver - A DLL based function library (GXFPGA.dll, located in the Windows System folder) used to program and control the board. The driver uses Marvin Test Solutions' HW driver or VISA supplied by third party vendor to access and control the GXFPGA boards.
Programming files and examples – Interface files and libraries for support of various programming tools. A complete list of files and development tools supported by the driver is included in subsequent sections of this manual.
Documentation – On-Line help and User’s Guide for the board, GXFPGA driver and panel.
HW driver and PXI/PCI Explorer applet – HW driver allows the GXFPGA driver to access and program the supported boards. The explorer applet configures the PXI chassis, controllers and devices. This is required for accurate identification of your PXI instruments later on when installed in your system. The applet configuration is saved to PXISYS.ini and PXIeSYS.ini and is used by Geotest instruments HW driver and VISA. The applet can be used to assign chassis numbers, Legacy Slot numbers and instrument alias names. The HW driver is installed and shared with all Geotest products to support accessing the PC resources. Similar to HW driver, VISA provides a standard way for instrument manufacturers and users to write and use instruments drivers. VISA is a standard maintained by the VXI Plug & Play System Alliance and the PXI Systems Alliance organizations ( http://www.pxisa.org/). The VISA resource manager such as National Instruments Measurement & Automation (NI-MAX) displays and configures instruments and their address (similar to Geotest’s PXI/PCI Explorer). The GXFPGA driver can work with either HW or VISA to control an access the supported boards.