TESTSYS(3)

📦
version 4.3.7 · 2 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

✨ TESTSYS(3) ✨

okay bestie, so TESTSYS is a lil section-3 manual page from the linux-gpib girlies, and it's literally all about asking your instruments "hey… are you okay??" 💖

🌸 NAME 🌸

TestSys — perform self-test queries on devices 🩺✨

like, it's the vibe check but for hardware. iykyk.

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <gpib/ib.h>

void TestSys(int board_desc, const Addr4882_t addressList[],
             short results[]);

no cap, that's the whole thing. two includes-worth of energy, one function, three args. slay. 💅

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

okay so here's the tea ☕ — TestSys() sends the '*TST?' message to every single device chillin' in the addressList array, and then it reads all their lil responses back into the results array. 🫶

and the way that this works is: devices that are down with the IEEE 488.2 standard will actually run a self-test on themselves and answer with a zero when everything's fine and dandy. 🌈 a non-zero response though?? 🚩 that means an error happened during the self-test. not iconic. not the moment.

also!! the number of devices that responded with nonzero values from their self-tests gets returned in ibcnt, ibcntl. 👑

and if a device just… doesn't respond to the *TST? query at all?? 😭 an error gets flagged in ibsta. and yes bestie, that is different from NI's documented behaviour — because NI's documented behaviour is broken. 💀 i said what i said.

Copyright © 2003-2006, 2008 Frank Mori Hess 💖

and that's the whole page, babe! 🦋 this absolute gem lives in linux-gpib 4.3.7, dated 07/06/2026 — go forth and self-test responsibly. periodt. 💅✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from