1. Place a CWAO control on the form.

Right click on the control

and select Properties to interactively set your analog output
parameters in the custom property pages, as shown in Figure
1.

Figure 1. Selecting Devices and Channels Interactively

2. On the Channels page, select your data acquisition device from the drop-down list.
Click the New button to add the channel object. Specify the channel string for the
waveform generation and configure the acquisition settings.

3. Select the Buffer page.

a. A data buffer can be

output once, several
times, or continuously
until generation is
stopped using the Reset
method. To continuously
generate waveform data,
check Infinite.

b. The Buffer Settings

section allows you to
specify the size of the
buffer. Set Number of
updates to 10000.

c. Select Progress event.

A Progress event can be
used to monitor the state
of waveform generation.
You can control how
 often the Progress event
is fired with the Progress
interval option. By
default, the Progress
interval is one-half of
the buffer size. For a
buffer of 10000 points,
the event is fired after
5000 points have been
updated. You can
customize the Progress
interval to be any value
that evenly divides into
Number of updates.
You might want to set a
custom interval if you
need the event to fire
more often than every
half buffer. For instance,
if you have a large
buffer that takes 10
seconds to output, then
the event fires every five
seconds. You can set a
smaller interval to see
more frequent updates.

4. On the Clocks page, change Updates/second to 10000 to specify the frequency of

the update clock of your DAQ device. The update clock controls the rate at which
points in the waveform are output on the analog output channels. Because each
channel has its own digital-to-analog converter (DAC), there is no delay between
updates from different channels, and all channels are updated simultaneously.

The update rate is the frequency at which your data is updated on individual
channels. For example, if you add channel 1 and channel 0 and set the update clock
to a frequency of 1000 updates per second, the DAQ device updates each DAC
every millisecond. This frequency is not the same as the waveform frequency of the
output. The actual frequency of the output waveform, the points per cycle, and the
update rate are interdependent. In this example, the update rate is a constant 10000
updates/second. The maximum frequency of the waveform is 1000 Hz, giving a
minimum of 10 points per cycle. Less than 10 points per cycle will produce an
inaccurate waveform.

5. Click OK to set the parameters and close the property pages.

Creating the User Interface

Now that you have configured your DAQ device and set up the channels, you can build a
user interface for controlling data generation. Figure 2 shows the user interface of the
waveform generator example, which will generate a sine wave with the frequency
specified in the numeric edit control and chart the data on the graph.

Figure 2. Developing the Waveform Generator User Interface

1. Place a CWGraph control on the form and customize it to behave as a

strip chart. Right click on the graph and select Properties.

a. On the Axes page, uncheck the Auto scale box and change the
Minimum and Maximum for the XAxis to 0 and 250,
respectively. The graph now displays 250 points at a time.

b. On the Ticks page, change the Tick spacing to Number of

divisions and select 2 for Major and 0 for Minor. The XAxis now
displays two major divisions, as shown in Figure 2.

c. On the Graph page, change Chart history to Fixed at 10000. The

chart history specifies the number of points the graph stores before
deleting old data. For this example, the chart history will store a
full buffer of data before overwriting existing data. Press OK to
close the property pages.

2. Place a CWNumEdit control on the form. Change Name to

numFreqVal and Value to 500. Place a Label next to the CWNumEdit
control and change Caption to Frequency. Right click on the
CWNumEdit control and select Properties.

a. On the Numeric page, check the Do range checking box and set
 the Minimum and Maximum to 0 and 1000, respectively. Range
checking enforces a minimum and maximum on the values in the
numeric edit box.

b. On the Format page, type .#" Hz" in the Format string box to
format and label the value in the numeric edit control. The .#
means the numeric edit displays one digit of precision to the right
of the decimal, and the " Hz" appends the unit after the value.

c. Press OK to apply the changes and close the property pages.

3. Place a CommandButton on the control form. Change Name to

cmdStart and Caption to Start.

4. Place another CommandButton on the form. Change Name to

cmdStop and Caption to Stop.

5. Place a Label on the form. Change Name to Update and delete the
default Caption value. This indicator displays the number of updates
that have been output to the data acquisition board since the start of
the waveform generation. Place another Label next to the control and
change Caption to Update Count:.

6. Add Visual Basic code to make the application respond to interactions

from users and events generated by the program.

a. At the top of the code window, you can declare global variables
and constants. These variables and constants are accessible from
any part of the program. Place the following code in the General
Declarations section at the top of the code window:

Option Explicit
'BufferSize is the size of the buffer
Const BufferSize = 10000
Const TwoPi = 6.2832
Dim WholeBuffer

b. Create a new function that generates the number of updates you

specified in the CWAO property pages:

Private Function GeneratePoints(Updates _

As Integer)
Dim i, PointsPerCycle
Dim Pattern() As Double
ReDim Pattern(Updates)
PointsPerCycle = BufferSize / numFreqVal.Value
For i = 1 To Updates
'compute sine wave
Pattern(i) = Sin(TwoPi * i / PointsPerCycle)
Next i
 GeneratePoints = Pattern
End Function

c. When you run the Waveform Generator and press the Start button,
data is generated. Before waveform generation can begin, the
device needs to be configured, and the AO buffer must already be
filled with data so that it is not empty at any point. Double click on
the Start button and add the following code:

Private Sub cmdStart_Click()

WholeBuffer = GeneratePoints(BufferSize)
CWAO1.Configure
CWAO1.Write WholeBuffer
CWAO1.Start
CWGraph1.ChartY
WholeBuffer
End Sub

d. The Progress event fires after 5000 updates on the DAC because
the Progress interval defaults to half of the buffer size, which you
declared as 10000. When the Progress event fires, the number of
updates appears on the user interface. Double click on the CWAO
control and add the following code:

Private Sub CWAO1_Progress(UpdateCount _

As Variant)
Update.Caption = UpdateCount
End Sub

e. When you press the Stop button, the data generation stops, and the
device resets. Double click on the Stop button and add the
following code:

Private Sub cmdStop_Click()

CWAO1.Reset
End Sub

7. Save the project and form as Waveform Generator.

8. Select Run»Start to run and test your program.

9. To begin writing data to the channel, press the Start button. Notice
that a sine wave appears on the graph. Watch the update count change.
To change the frequency of the wave, press the Stop button, reset the
frequency, and restart the generation. You can use an oscilloscope to
verify the waveform generation. Alternatively, you can connect the
output channel to an input channel and use National Instruments
Measurement & Automation Explorer to monitor the input channel.
Press the Stop button when you want to stop the data generation and
reset the device.
 Tip: If you choose to monitor your output, set the scan rate on the
analog input to a minimum of double the rate of the analog output to
avoid aliasing.

Manipulating Controls Programmatically

With the custom property pages, you can quickly select a device and set parameters to
output data to that device, but the property pages are not available during run time.
However, you can set the parameters programmatically and alter them from the user
interface while the example is running. In this section, you will add controls to the user
interface so that you can set the device and channel during run time.

Figure 3. Setting the Devices and Channels from the User Interface

1. Place the controls on the form as shown in Figure 3 to select the device
and channel from the user interface at run time.

Note: The properties set in the property pages are overwritten by those
set programmatically.

a. Place a CWNumEdit control on the form. Change Name to

numDevice and Value to 1 or to the device you are using. Place a
Label next to the control and change Caption to Device.

b. Place a CWNumEdit control on the form. Change Name to

numChannel and Value to 0 or to the channel you are writing to.
Place a Label next to the control and change Caption to Channel.
 2. Modify existing subroutines to use the information specified on the user
interface, rather than in the property pages. Add the bolded code to the
existing cmdStart_Click event procedure:
Private Sub cmdStart_Click()
WholeBuffer = GeneratePoints(BufferSize)

CWAO1.Device = numDevice
'Remove existing channels
CWAO1.Channels.RemoveAll
'Add channel specified on UI
CWAO1.Channels.Add numChannel

CWAO1.UpdateClock.Frequency = BufferSize
'Set a continuous acquisition
CWAO1.Infinite = True
'Specify the number of points in
'the waveform
CWAO1.NUpdates = BufferSize
'Configure the Progress event to fire
'every half buffer
CWAO1.ProgressEnabled = True
CWAO1.AutoSelectProgressInterval = False
'Progress interval is half of the
'full buffer size
CWAO1.ProgressInterval = BufferSize / 2

CWAO1.Configure

CWAO1.Write WholeBuffer CWAO1.Start

CWGraph1.ChartY WholeBuffer
End Sub

3. Save the project and form.

4. Select Run»Start to run your program.

5. Enter the values for the device, channel, and frequency and press the
Start button. The plot of the output appears on the graph, and the Update
Count indicator displays the number of updates. Press the Stop button to
stop generating data.

Changing Waveform Frequency During Generation

Currently, you can set the frequency of the waveform during run time. Now, you will add
code so that you can change the frequency on the fly. When a Progress event is fired, it
indicates that the number of updates equal to the Progress interval has been written out
from the buffer. At this point, you can write new data to the buffer to replace the data that
has been written out. For this part of the example, you will generate new data when the
frequency is changed. This new data will then be written to the buffer on each Progress
event.

1. Add a global variable, HalfBuffer, to the declaration section. Declare it

as you declared WholeBuffer.
2. Modify the existing subroutine so that a half buffer will be created when
the Start button is pressed. Add the bolded line to the existing procedure:
Private Sub cmdStart_Click()
WholeBuffer = GeneratePoints(BufferSize)

HalfBuffer = GeneratePoints(BufferSize / 2)

CWAO1.Device = numDevice
'Remove existing channels
CWAO1.Channels.RemoveAll
'Add channel specified on UI
CWAO1.Channels.Add numChannel

CWAO1.UpdateClock.Frequency = BufferSize
'Set a continuous acquisition
CWAO1.Infinite = True
'Specify the number of points in the waveform
CWAO1.NUpdates = BufferSize

'Configure the Progress event to fire

'every half buffer
CWAO1.ProgressEnabled = True
CWAO1.AutoSelectProgressInterval = False
'Progress interval is half of the full
'buffer size
CWAO1.ProgressInterval = BufferSize / 2

CWAO1.Configure

CWAO1.Write WholeBuffer CWAO1.Start

CWGraph1.ChartY WholeBuffer
End Sub

3. To change the frequency on-the-fly, double click on the frequency

control and add the following code:
Private Sub numFreqVal_ValueChanged(Value As _
Variant, PreviousValue As Variant, ByVal _
OutOfRange As Boolean)
HalfBuffer = GeneratePoints(BufferSize / 2)
End Sub

4. Add the bolded lines to the existing CWAO1_Progress subroutine so that

it updates half of the buffer with the last chosen frequency and charts the
points when the event is fired:
 Private Sub CWAO1_Progress(UpdateCount As Variant)
Update.Caption = UpdateCount
'Write next half buffer of data
CWAO1.Write HalfBuffer
CWGraph1.ChartY HalfBuffer
End Sub

Note: Notice that each time the frequency changes, half of a buffer is
generated. Before you can begin the acquisition, you need to create a full
buffer and half buffer of data. If you change the frequency of the
waveform before pressing the Start button, you will create HalfBuffer
twice.

5. Save your project.

6. Select Run»Start to run and test your program.

7. Press the Start button to begin the data generation. Notice that Update
Count changes, as it did before. Change the frequency. Notice that the
waveform changes soon after.

Generating Square and Triangle Waves

You can expand this example by generating different waveforms. Figure 4 shows the
modified Waveform Generator during run time. The slide functions as a waveform
selector with settings to generate sine, square, or triangle waves.

Figure 4. Running the Waveform Generator

1. Place a CWSlide on the form. Change Name to WaveformType. Right

 click on the slide and select Properties.

a. On the Style page, choose Vertical Slide and click the Value
pairs only option. A value pair associates a symbolic name with a
value and marks a specific point on an axis, which you can specify
in the Value Pairs property page.

b. On the Value Pairs page, delete the last entry (Index 4). Choose
Index 1 and change Name to Triangle and Value to 2. For Index
2, change Name to Square and Value to 1. For Index 3, change
Name to Sine and leave Value at 0. Each of the values will be
used in the program to identify their respective functions in a case
statement.

c. On the Pointer page, choose None for the Fill style. Press OK.

2. Double click on the slide and add the following code so that when the
slide position changes, data is generated for the selected waveform
type:
Private Sub WaveformType_PointerValueChanged _
(ByVal Pointer As Long, Value As Variant)
HalfBuffer = GeneratePoints(BufferSize / 2)
End Sub

3. To implement the new waveform types, add the bolded code to the
existing GeneratePoints function:
Private Function GeneratePoints(Updates _
As Integer)
Dim i, PointsPerCycle
Dim j, Mid
Dim Pattern() As Double
ReDim Pattern(Updates)
PointsPerCycle = BufferSize / numFreqVal.Value
Mid = PointsPerCycle / 2
For i = 1 To Updates
j = i Mod PointsPerCycle
Select Case WaveformType.Value
Case 0
'Compute sine wave
Pattern(i) = Sin(TwoPi * i _
/ PointsPerCycle)
Case 1
'Compute square wave; the \
'represents integer division
Pattern(i) = 1 - 2 * (j \ Mid)
Case 2
'Compute triangle wave
Pattern(i) = 1 - 2 * (1 - _
Abs((Mid – j) / Mid))
End Select
Next i
 GeneratePoints = Pattern
End Function

4. Save the project and form.

5. Select Run»Start to run your program.

6. Enter values for the device, channel, and frequency and press the
Start button to begin. The plot of the output appears on the graph, and
the number of updates appears. Change the slide to output a different
waveform. You can see the different waveform appear on the graph.
Press the Stop button to stop generating data and reset the device.

Conclusion

The routines outlined in this application note demonstrate the basics of analog output
using the CWAO control. You can customize the routines and update the techniques in
this example to create a more efficient program that meets your specific needs.

Buffered AO provides a flexible way to continuously generate waveform data and change
the data without interrupting the data stream. You can customize your waveform
generator in the following ways:

• Adjust timing parameters -- The ability to manipulate and coordinate various

timing parameters is important for any DAQ system. Use the Measurement Studio
property pages to quickly configure the controls to behave the way you want. For
example, you could use an external timing source rather than the internal clock for
your waveform generator. You might want to use an onboard counter to
synchronize updates with other timing signals.
• Use Measurement Studio Digital Signal Processing (DSP) -- The DSP control
provides robust and flexible methods for creating complex waveforms. DSP is
available in the Measurement Studio Full Development system; built-in functions
exist for sine, triangle, square, arbitrary, and sawtooth waveforms, chirps, and
Gaussian and white noise. You can use DSP for more complex waveforms in this
example. The Waveform Generator presented in this application note does not use
the DSP control because it is not available in the Measurement Studio Base
package.
• Broadcast live data -- You can use DataSocket to distribute the generated data
from this example over the Internet. With DataSocket, you can distribute
interactive data, where users connected to the application receive real data points
rather than pictures of the data. See Building an Interactive Web Page with
DataSocket for information about setting up a live display of data.