Knowledgebase

Some versions of the AfterMath software provide limited support for the concept of “virtual” instrumentation. A virtual instrument does not actually exist (physically) but is rather a software-simulated instrument. A virtual instrument appears in the instrument list along with the “real” instruments, but it is usually not capable of performing meaningful experiments.

The main purpose of a virtual instrument is to provide an indication of the capabilities of an instrument at those times when your computer isn't actually connected to a real instrument. For example, you might be using AfterMath on your laptop computer while travelling on an airline flight. During the flight, you might want to configure a few new experiment specifications to use at a later time after you reach your destination. You can create the new specifications and then audit the specifications against a virtual instrument to assure that all of the experimental parameters are compatible with the “real” instrument that you will be using later.