Interacting with Devices via COM Ports
Matheus C. Carvalho · 2016
AutoIt be used to directly control instruments. An essential aspect of controlling instruments with a computer is the ability to exchange data between computer and instrument. This is made possible through communication interfaces, like serial, parallel, USB, and LAN ports, among many other ways. One of the most common ways of connecting instruments to a computer is using USB or serial ports, which are based on the RS-232 protocol. This chapter introduces how AutoIt can send commands to instruments using this technology. There is a library, called user-defined functions (UDF), for AutoIt, which allows the control of instruments through COM ports. Some COM-port devices are designed for real-time monitoring, but lack an interface that allows such monitoring to be easily observed on the computer screen. In addition to controlling instruments using COM ports, AutoIt has a library for GPIB/VISA, which means, respectively, General Purpose Interface Bus and Virtual Instrument Software Architecture.