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I wanted to get NI USB-6008 DAQ but I don't want to burn a hole in my wallet buying LABView. Are there any alternatives to LABView as DAQ software for this card? Is it possible to use Visual C++ Express or OS software like BioMOBIUS with this DAQ card?

moesef
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Yes, the USB-6008 supports both ANSI-C or .NET control WITHOUT Labview, LabWindows, or Measurement Studio although these are certainly great options as well.

You'd use the NI-DAQmx library.

Reference:

See page 7 and 8 of the USB-6008 manual here: http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/371303l.pdf

crlanglois
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  • I have a C++ wrapper for nidaq-mx (for analog acquisition functions), let me know if you're interested. – Ben Voigt Feb 07 '12 at 23:25
  • Thanks crlanglois. And I may be interested Ben, once I have the DAQ in hand. – moesef Feb 08 '12 at 21:12
  • so having said this, I would like to program the DAQ board with ANSI-C. Any IDEs that are good to do this with? I was thinking about using 'The Eclipse C/C++ Development Tools' with Eclipse.. @BenVoigt I would definitley appreciate having the C++ wrapper. Let me know what I gotta do to get it. – moesef Feb 09 '12 at 18:23
  • @moesef: I uploaded it [on CodeReview.SE](http://codereview.stackexchange.com/q/8840/2150) – Ben Voigt Feb 09 '12 at 23:51
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NI offer Measurement Studio that allows you to use their DAQ devices with Visual Studio. I'm not sure if you can use it with Visual C++ Express but as it's a .net library I'd expect it to work.

From the NI Website:

Measurement Studio is an integrated measurement solution of tools created specifically for V isual Studio .NET programmers. It is designed for engineers and scientists building test, measurement, and control applications in Visual Studio 2010/2008/2005.

Measurment Studio is not free (as pointed out by @BenVoigt, thanks Ben) but is less than half the price of LabVIEW Base. I understand that it will give you access to many of the visual controls and indicators similar to LabVIEW but this does come at a price and if they are not needed then there are better options.

For a free option the NI-DAQmx library as mentioned by @crlanglois looks a much better choice.

Swinders
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    He said he didn't want to burn a hole in his wallet. – Ben Voigt Feb 07 '12 at 23:25
  • Yes @BenVoigt I had missed that Measurement Studio has to be purchased. The NI-DAQmx library as mentioned by crlanglois looks to be your best option. – Swinders Feb 09 '12 at 10:26
  • Well thanks for the info Swinders... if Measurement Studio is substantially cheaper than LabView, I might be inclined to get it... I'll have to look into it. – moesef Feb 09 '12 at 18:11
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One of the cost effective alternative is pyDAQmx : http://pythonhosted.org/PyDAQmx/

rah
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Visual DAQ is a customized alternative to LABView.

M. John
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