Glossary
NI 5102 User Manual G-14 ni.com
PGIA programmable gain instrumentation amplifier
pipeline a high-performance processor structure in which the completion of an
instruction is broken into its elements so that several elements can be
processed simultaneously from different instructions
Plug and Play
devices
devices that do not require DIP switches or jumpers to configure resources
on the devices—also called switchless devices
PlugandPlayISA aspecificationpreparedbyMicrosoft,Intel,andotherPC-related
companies that will result in PCs with plug-in boards that can be fully
configured in software, without jumpers or switches on the boards
port (1) a communications connection on a computer or a remote controller
(2) a digital port, consisting of four or eight lines of digital input
and/or output
postriggering the technique used on a DAQ device to acquire a programmed number of
samples after trigger conditions are met
potentiometer an electrical device the resistance of which can be manually adjusted; used
for manual adjustment of electrical circuits and as a transducer for linear or
rotary position
ppm parts per million
pretriggering the technique used on a DAQ device to keep a continuous buffer filled with
data, so that when the trigger conditions are met, the sample includes the
data leading up to the trigger condition
probe compensation adjusting the tunable probe capacitor to get a flat frequency response
protocol the exact sequence of bits, characters, and control codes used to transfer
data between computers and peripherals through a communications
channel, such as the GPIB bus
pts points
pulse trains multiple pulses
pulsed output a form of counter signal generation by which a pulse is outputted when a
counter reaches a certain value
PXI PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation—an open specification that builds off
the CompactPCI specification by adding instrumentation-specific features
