Instrument Connection and Communication

Basic steps to connect, configure, and communicate with your instrument

Regardless of the interface you use, there are common steps that comprise the basic workflow of instrument communication. In all cases, you must examine your hardware resources and create an interface object. Setting properties is optional. Reading and writing depends on the interface you are using. See the section of the documentation for the interface you are using.

Topics

Instrument Communication Workflow

Examining Your Hardware Resources
Return hardware-related information visible to the toolbox, including the installed adaptors and the syntax for creating instrument objects.
Creating Instrument Objects
Create a MATLAB^® object that represents the interface or the instrument.
Connecting to the Instrument
Establish a connection between the object and the interface or instrument.
Configuring and Returning Properties
View and set property values to configure the interface and instrument settings.
Communicating with Your Instrument
Write commands to the instrument, read data from the instrument, or call instrument driver functions.
Disconnecting and Cleaning Up
Disconnect the object, and remove the object from memory and from the workspace.
Summary
Choose whether to use interface objects or device objects for your application.

Instrument Control Toolbox Information

Instrument Control Toolbox Overview
Describes the Instrument Control Toolbox™ product and capabilities.
Supported Hardware
This table lists the hardware support for the Instrument Control Toolbox.
About Instrument Control
Explains the files and interface driver adaptors that compose the toolbox.
General Preferences for Instrument Control
The MATLAB software preferences related to the Instrument Control Toolbox.
Interface and Property Help
View documentation and examples in the system web browser; get help and support information in the Command Window.