nisync 0.2.1

NI-Sync Python API

Info	NI-Sync Python API
Author	National Instruments

Table of Contents

• About
  • Documentation
  • Implementation
  • Supported NI-Sync Driver Versions
  • Operating System Support
  • Python Version Support
• Installation
  • Manual Driver Installation
• Getting Started
• Usage
  • Python Examples
• License

About

The nisync package allows you to develop timing and synchronization applications for both time-based and signal-based synchronizations with NI-Sync devices in Python. NI created and supports this package.

Documentation

Refer to the NI-Sync User Manual for API-agnostic information about NI-Sync concepts.

Implementation

The package is implemented in Python as an object-oriented wrapper around the NI-Sync C API using the ctypes Python library.

Supported NI-Sync Driver Versions

nisync supports all versions of NI-Sync. Some functions in the nisync package may be unavailable with earlier versions of NI-Sync driver. Refer to the Installation section for details on how to install the latest version of the NI-Sync driver.

Operating System Support

nisync supports Windows and Linux operating systems where the NI-Sync driver is supported. Refer to NI Hardware and Operating System Compatibility for which versions of the driver support your hardware on a given operating system.

Python Version Support

nisync supports CPython 3.9+ and PyPy3.

Installation

Running nisync requires NI-Sync to be installed. nisync can be installed with pip:

python -m pip install nisync

Manual Driver Installation

Visit ni.com/downloads to download the latest version of NI-Sync. None of the recommended Additional items are required for nisync to function, and they can be removed to minimize installation size. It is recommended you continue to install the NI Certificates package to allow your Operating System to trust NI built binaries, improving your software and hardware installation experience.

Getting Started

In order to use the nisync package, you must have at least one device that supports NI-Sync installed on your system. Both physical and simulated devices are supported. You can use NI MAX or NI Hardware Configuration Utility to verify and configure your devices.

Finding and configuring device name in NI MAX:

Finding and configuring device name in NI Hardware Configuration Utility:

Usage

The following is a basic example of using an nisync.nisync.Session object. This example illustrates how to connect and disconnect clock terminals to synchronize devices using the onboard oscillator as the clock source. This is particularly useful in applications requiring precise timing and synchronization across multiple devices.

Python Examples

import nisync
from nisync.constants import PXI_CLK10_IN, OSCILLATOR

# Create a new session with the nisync library
with nisync.Session(resource_name="PXI1Slot10") as session:
    # Connect the onboard oscillator to the PXI_CLK10_IN terminal
    # This setup is typically used for synchronizing measurements across devices
    session.connect_clock_terminals(OSCILLATOR, PXI_CLK10_IN)
    
    # Perform measurements or operations that require synchronization
    
    # Once operations are complete, disconnect the terminals
    session.disconnect_clock_terminals(OSCILLATOR, PXI_CLK10_IN)

License

nisync is licensed under an MIT-style license (see LICENSE). Other incorporated projects may be licensed under different licenses. All licenses allow for non-commercial and commercial use.