Data Acquisition (DAQ) and Control from Microstar Laboratories

DAPtools for Python

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Develop your application using Python

Included in:
DAPtools Basic

Manual:
DAPtools for Python Manual

Article:
Audio Capture with Python

PR:
New Data Acquisition Support for Python

The DAPtools for Python interface is a set of "wrapper functions" that enable applications written in the Python programming language to configure and control operation of Data Acquisition Processor (DAP) systems, allowing high-performance data acquisition applications controlled from a normal Python application environment.

Typical applications would be ad hoc quick tests, or configurable scripting for test automation not bound to specific large application platforms.

Using Python for purposes of time-critical data acquisition might seem unlikely.

Data acquisition applications typically are laden with stringent real-time constraints.
Python applications do what they do, when the appropriate functions happen to run, with execution time undefined. Processing can be delayed and rescheduled at any time because of various background activities such as inter-process communication or free memory reclamation.

With Data Acquisition Processor boards, however, no direct interaction with devices or device drivers is required.

All of the complicated real-time interactions with hardware devices are delegated to the DAPL operating system running in an embedded environment on the DAP boards. Automatic buffering and data transfer management are provided by the DAPL system. On the host application side, the DAPIO programming interface provides access functions for configuration, process management, and data storage. The result is that you do not need special real-time operating system configurations or customized Python implementations.

This combines the best of both worlds, the regularity and precision of DAP systems, with the software flexibility of the Python environment. Use DAPtools for Python and take advantage of the benefits of both.

Learn more by reviewing the manual.

Download DAPtools Basic to use DAPtools for Python with your DAP system.

Note: DAPtools for Python supports both Windows and GNU/Linux operating systems.

 

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