This section discusses the GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) or IEEE-488 standard which HP calls the HP-IB. This instrument communication standard transfers data between devices and a host controller. The history of the bus is presented along with an overview of its signal lines and device addressing. The different levels of IEEE-488 bus data transfer and control statements are also presented along with the HTBasic statements that enable and control IEEE-488 interrupts. A list of CONTROL, STATUS, READIO, and WRITEIO registers for the IEEE-488 is given. A summary of the bus actions that each IEEE-488 statement generates is also included.
This section does not explain installation of the IEEE-488 board or device driver. The Getting Started Guide contains the necessary installation and configuration information for device drivers included with HTBasic. For device drivers sold separately, the documentation included with the driver explains how to load and configure the driver.
This section assumes that you already have some familiarity with the operation of IEEE-488 bus and does not include a detailed bus operation description. Please consult any one of the many available books about the IEEE-488 bus for more detailed information about its operation.
