<s>
Instrument	B-Architecture
control	I-Architecture
consists	O
of	O
connecting	O
a	O
desktop	O
instrument	O
to	O
a	O
computer	O
and	O
taking	O
measurements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
several	O
other	O
buses	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
GPIB	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
instrument	B-Architecture
control	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
:	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
USB	B-Protocol
,	O
Serial	B-Protocol
,	O
PCI	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
PXI	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
hardware	O
bus	O
to	O
control	O
an	O
instrument	O
,	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
is	O
also	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
Instrument	I-General_Concept
Software	I-General_Concept
Architecture	I-General_Concept
,	O
or	O
VISA	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
VME	B-Architecture
eXtensions	I-Architecture
for	I-Architecture
Instrumentation	I-Architecture
(	O
VXI	B-Architecture
)	O
plug	B-Device
and	I-Device
play	I-Device
Systems	O
Alliance	O
as	O
a	O
specification	O
for	O
I/O	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VISA	O
specification	O
defines	O
a	O
software	O
standard	O
for	O
VXI	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
for	O
GPIB	O
,	O
serial	B-Protocol
,	O
Ethernet	O
and	O
other	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instruments	O
can	O
be	O
programmed	O
by	O
sending	O
and	O
receiving	O
text	O
based	O
SCPI	O
commands	O
or	O
by	O
using	O
an	O
instrument	B-General_Concept
driver	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
ease	O
the	O
programming	O
of	O
instruments	O
,	O
many	O
instruments	O
are	O
provided	O
with	O
industry	O
standard	O
instrument	B-General_Concept
drivers	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
VXIplug&play	O
or	O
IVI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
drivers	O
require	O
a	O
VISA	O
library	O
to	O
be	O
to	O
installed	O
on	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
IVI	O
instrument	B-General_Concept
drivers	I-General_Concept
were	O
designed	O
to	O
enable	O
interchangeability	O
of	O
instruments	O
in	O
a	O
manufacturing	O
setting	O
where	O
automation	B-Application
and	O
reduced	O
down-time	O
are	O
important	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
are	O
often	O
used	O
in	O
other	O
applications	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Application	O
development	O
environments	O
can	O
support	O
instrument	B-Architecture
control	I-Architecture
by	O
supporting	O
VISA	O
and	O
industry	O
standard	O
instrument	B-General_Concept
drivers	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Environments	O
supporting	O
VISA	O
include	O
LabVIEW	B-Application
,	O
LabWindows/CVI	B-Application
,	O
MATLAB	B-Language
,	O
and	O
VEE	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
the	O
VISA	O
library	O
can	O
support	O
programming	O
languages	O
like	O
C	B-Language
,	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
C#	B-Application
,	O
Python	B-Language
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
