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pythonlabview

Is PyDAQmx or similar available for mac?


As a mac user I would like to use a NI-DAQmx on a mac but without the classical LabVIEW, hopefully with python or Matlab.

I only found this PyDAQmx, but it is just for windows and linux.


Solution

  • To use NI hardware from python on a Mac, you need a driver with a C API.

    Unfortunately, NI-DAQmx is not available for Mac, but NI provides the NI-DAQmx Base driver. This driver is a subset of NI-DAQmx in two ways: the supported devices and, for a given device, the supported hardware features. See the ReadMe [1] for the list of devices and features that are supported, but in general, the PCI/PCIe E and M Series devices are supported, as are the USB 621x devices; notable absences are the X Series devices and Compact DAQ (cDAQ).

    NI-DAQmx Base has a C API, and it appears you can use it with PyDAQmx 1.3.2 [2].

    If you are willing to forgo python and use LabVIEW, NI has a driver for the NI myDAQ device [3]. This driver is NI-DAQmx, but only supports that one device.

    References

    [1] NI-DAQmx Base for Mac
    http://www.ni.com/download/ni-daqmx-base-15.0/5648/en/

    [2] PyDAQmx 1.3.2
    https://github.com/clade/PyDAQmx/releases/tag/v1.3.2

    [3] Getting Started With NI-DAQmx for myDAQ on Mac OS X
    http://www.ni.com/white-paper/52345/en/