National Instruments Network Device DAQ S - Manual (Page 158)

Glossary
© National Instruments Corporation G-5 NI 6124/6154 User Manual
DIP Dual inline package.
DMA Direct memory access—a method by which data can be transferred to/from
computer memory from/to a device or memory on the bus while the
processor does something else. DMA is the fastest method of transferring
data to/from computer memory.
DNL Differential nonlinearity—a measure in least significant bit of the
worst-case deviation of code widths from their ideal value of 1 LSB.
DO Digital output.
driver Software unique to the device or type of device, and includes the set of
commands the device accepts.
E
earth ground A direct electrical connection to the earth which provides a reference
voltage level (called zero potential or ground potential) against which all
other voltages in a system are established and measured. Also referred to as
building ground .
EEPROM Electrically erasable programmable read–only memory–ROM that can be
erased with an electrical signal and reprogrammed.
ESD Electrostatic Discharge—a high-voltage, low-current discharge of static
electricity that can damage sensitive electronic components. Electrostatic
discharge voltage can easily range from 1,000 to 10,000 V.
F
F Farad—a measurement unit of capacitance.
FIFO First-in-first-out memory buffer—a data buffering technique that functions
like a shift register where the oldest values (first in) come out first. Many
DAQ products use FIFOs to buffer digital data from an A/D converter, or to
buffer the data before or after bus transmission.
floating signal
sources Signal sources with voltage signals that are not connected to an absolute
reference of system ground. Also called nonreferenced signal sources.
Some common examples of floating signal sources are batteries,
transformers, and thermocouples.