Wired connections and drivers

Automatic data acquisition would require a complete or at least a partially functioning system. At best, according to IEEE guidelines, a device may only respond when it is asked to perform a task. While this may be the ideal case, we are often dealing with systems that are sending continuous streams of data. We use the word system to define a set of device(s) that include at least one sensor, or an instrument such as an oscilloscope, a power supply, and so on, which is connected to a computer running LabVIEW via a physical connector. Granted, on a more advanced systems, data acquisition may be accomplished through wireless connections (still, in almost all cases, a system would need an intermediate physical layer between a computer and a wireless communication device). But for all practical purposes, let us start with what is most commonly used in the industry or perhaps a university lab. Needless to say, any communications established within a system must be...