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Normally my articles are about something power-related, like battery testing, ac grid simulation, or general power-supply technology topics. Instead, this article will pull up to a higher level and talk about a topic related to all general automated test equipment regarding how to control automated test instruments.

When controlling automated instruments, many technologies involve a library that implements a specific application programming interface (API). In these cases, you get a library that can be added to your test programming environment. To control or take data from the instrument, you’ll have a specific library call that creates the desired action on the instrument, such as setting a range or calling on a specific measurement function.