National Instruments AT-MIO-16X - Manual (Page 301)

Glossary
AT-MIO-16X User Manual G-18 © National Instruments Corporation
PCMCIA an expansion bus architecture that has found widespread acceptance as
a de facto standard in notebook-size computers. It originated as a
specification for add-on memory cards written by the Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association.
peak to peak a measure of signal amplitude; the difference between the highest and
lowest excursions of the signal
PFI programmable function input
PGIA programmable gain instrumentation amplifier
photoelectric sensor an electrical device that responds to a change in the intensity of the light
falling upon it
PID control a three-term control mechanism combining proportional, integral, and
derivative control actions. Also see proportional control, integral
control, and derivative control.
pipeline a high-performance processor structure in which the completion of an
instruction is broken into its elements so that several elements can be
processed simultaneously from different instructions
PLC programmable logic controller—a highly reliable special-purpose
computer used in industrial monitoring and control applications. PLCs
typically have proprietary programming and networking protocols, and
special-purpose digital and analog I/O ports.
Plug and Play devices devices that do not require dip switches or jumpers to configure
resources on the devices—also called switchless devices
Plug and Play ISA a specification prepared by Microsoft, Intel, and other PC-related
companies that will result in PCs with plug-in boards that can be fully
configured in software, without jumpers or switches on the boards
port (1) a communications connection on a computer or a remote controller
(2) a digital port, consisting of four or eight lines of digital input and/or
output
posttriggering the technique used on a DAQ board to acquire a programmed number
of samples after trigger conditions are met
potentiometer an electrical device the resistance of which can be manually adjusted;
used for manual adjustment of electrical circuits and as a transducer for
linear or rotary position