User manual

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1 Introduction
The Keithley I/O Layer software manages the communications between Keithley
instrument drivers and software applications and the instrument itself. The I/O Layer
handles differences in communications required to support GPIB, serial, Ethernet,
and other communications busses so that drivers and software applications do not
need to handle the differences themselves.
The Keithley I/O Layer used to be bundled in with drivers and software applications,
but has been moved to a separate component to simplify and improve support.
1.1 Included in this release
The components described below are provided as part of the Keithley I/O Layer.
Shortcuts for some of them are placed in the Keithley Instrument's folder during
installation.
1.1.1 Keithley Configuration Panel and Wizard
Before a driver or application can communicate with an instrument using the
Keithley I/O Layer, the instrument type, communications bus type, instrument
addressing information, and communications settings must be specified. Although
Keithley Instrument's drivers and applications provide default settings for these
items, sometimes it is necessary to change settings or create new configurations. The
Keithley configuration Panel and Wizard simplify this process.
1.1.2 Keithley Communicator
The Keithley Communicator provides a simple way to send individual commands
directly to an instrument and view the response without having to write a program.
This is useful for verifying instrument communications and can be a helpful
debugging tool.
1.1.3 VISA Runtime
VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture) software actually performs the
communications with the instruments. The Keithley Configuration Panel configures
VISA to work with your instruments, and the Keithley Communicator, instrument
drivers, and applications use VISA to perform instrument communications.
1.1.4 Keithley SCPI-based Instrument Driver