Channels provide an identifier for your data. A Channel typically is a single I/O point, be it input, output, string, spectral data or even an image. To make life easier, the details of which I/O channel number and device correspond to what channel only need be entered once. Each channel is given a name, and after defining the I/O associated with that name, only this name is required throughout the rest of the program. For instance, there is no need to remember that ambient_temperature channel is attached to Acme I/O board, device #3, channel #2! There can also be channels that contain calculated values: results from analysis functions, even calculated formulas. These are discussed a bit more in the section entitled Virtual Channels.
Conversions provide a simple way to put your data into useful units. You can, of course, use calculations throughout DAQFactory to do just about anything with your data. Conversions provide the first step, taking data that may be in volts, amps, counts, or some other units and converting them into something a bit more useful, like degrees, psi, etc.
This chapter will provide most of the detail needed to create channels and conversions and how to adjust them for the best performance.
