User Manual

Programming with the PicoScope 4000 Series6

4 Programming with the PicoScope 4000 Series

The ps4000.dll dynamic link library in your PicoScope installation directory allows

you to program a PicoScope 4000 Series oscilloscope using standard C function calls.

A typical program for capturing data consists of the following steps:

Open the scope unit.

Set up the input channels with the required voltage ranges and coupling mode.

Set up triggering.

Start capturing data. (See Sampling modes, where programming is discussed in

more detail.)

Wait until the scope unit is ready.

Stop capturing data.

Copy data to a buffer.

Close the scope unit.

Numerous sample programs are installed with your PicoScope software. These show

how to use the functions of the driver software in each of the modes available.

4.1

Driver

Your application will communicate with a PicoScope 4000 API driver called ps4000.

dll. The driver exports the PicoScope 4000 function definitions in standard C

format, but this does not limit you to programming in C. You can use the API with

any programming language that supports standard C calls.

The API driver depends on a kernel driver, picopp.sys, which works with 32-bit

Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista and Windows 7. For 64-bit versions, the API

depends on the winusb.sys kernel driver. Your application does not need to call the

kernel driver. Once you have installed the PicoScope 6 software, Windows

automatically installs the kernel driver when you plug in the PicoScope 4000 Series PC

Oscilloscope for the first time.

4.2

System requirements

General requirements

See System Requirements.

USB

The PicoScope 4000 driver offers three different methods of recording data, all of

which support both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0, although the fastest transfer rates between

the PC and the PicoScope 4000 are achieved using USB 2.0.