In HP16522A Applicatio​n Build Program.vi​, can I create a Program Line Array in a text editor, and then download it directly to the VI?

Question

I basically would like to insert a few extra instructions into a previously created Progam Line Array without having to re-enter the entire program again.

Answer 1

Andrew,
I just took a look at the HP16522A Instrument Driver, and it looks like that Program Line Array is handled programmatically as an array of clusters, that is then parsed out and formatted as strings to send to the instrument. I can see two ways of getting the data from your text editor into LabVIEW in a useable format. You could use the File I/O VIs to read the string data from the file, then parse and format it appropriately to add to the Program Line Array...I can also see getting that text data in, formatting it as strings, then simply adding it into the command string you send to the instrument right before the Write function.
I think both of these methods would work, although I think the first one will probably be easier for you to deal with, since you wo
uld be using the Program Line Array cluster format the entire time.
I wish you luck with your application. Have a pleasant day.
Sincerely,
Darren Nattinger
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
Darren Nattinger, CLA
LabVIEW Artisan and Nugget Penman