- Tektronix announces the launch of an open-source Python driver to facilitate the development of electronic instrument control applications in Python.
- Available free of charge, this software package enables users to develop automatic test applications natively in Python.
“Python is increasingly used by automatic test application development engineers, who have made it their preferred programming language. We want them to be able to gain productivity and efficiency through Pythonic development tools and code reuse,” said Rick Kuhlman, general manager of the software offering. “The free and open-source nature of our product aims to encourage collaboration and customization. Users can freely adapt the software to their specific needs, share improvements with our community and benefit from collegial knowledge and contributions from a global network of developers.”
According to Tektronix, developing an automatic test application normally requires learning and using string-based command APIs from another age. This presents shortcomings linked to the specificity of instrument commands, approximate syntax checking and debugging tools offering poor visibility.
This new software driver makes it possible to develop automatic test and instrument control routines directly in Python. Now, according to Tektronix, in a single line and in a matter of seconds, users benefit from Python auto-completion, an intelligent writing system, real-time syntax checking, an integrated palette of assistance tools, and advanced debugging capabilities. Thanks to the software package’s open-source model, all these features are available free of charge.
“We designed these drivers with simplicity in mind,” assures Rick Kuhlman. “They stand out for their speed of installation, with no prerequisites or unnecessary dependencies, unlike those of our competitors who often require users to install and use a host of additional driver software and interface layers. Thanks to our solution, it’s now extremely easy to set up and run the system.”
The open-source Python driver is designed to work with a variety of instruments from Tektronix and Keithley to facilitate the development and revision of test applications.
The driver, called tm_devices, is now available worldwide via the Python Package Index (PyPI) at pypi.org/project/tm-devices.
