What is a GPIB Interface?

GPIB is shorthand for general purpose interface board. A GPIB Interface was developed to connect and control programmable instruments, and to provide a standard interface for communication between instruments from different sources.

Hewlett-Packard originally developed the interfacing technique, and called it HP-IB. The interface quickly gained popularity in the computer industry. The interface was so versatile; the IEEE committee named it General Purpose Interface Bus.

Almost any instrument can be used with the specifications of a GPIB interface, because it says nothing about the function of the instrument itself, or about the form of the instrument's data. Instead the specification defines a separate component, the GPIB interface, which can be added to the instrument. The signals passing into the interface from the GPIB and from the instrument are defined in the standard. The instrument does not have complete control over the interface. Often the bus controller tells the interface what to do. The active controller performs the bus control functions for all the bus instruments.

The GPIB interface (IEEE-488.1) standard greatly simplified the interconnection of programmable instruments by clearly defining mechanical, hardware, and electrical protocol specifications. For the first time, instruments from different manufactures were connected by a standard cable. This standard does not address data formats, status reporting, message exchange protocol, common configuration commands, or device specific commands.

The GPIB interface (IEEE-488.2) standard enhances and strengthens the IEEE-488.1 standard by specifying data formats, status reporting, error handling, controller functionality, and common instruments commands. It focuses mainly on the software protocol issues and thus maintains compatibility with the hardware-oriented IEEE-488.1 standard. IEEE-488.2 systems tend to be more compatible and reliable.

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