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A system and method for online configuration of a measurement system. The user may access a computer over a network and specify a desired task, e.g., a measurement task, and receive programs and/or configuration information which are usable to configure the user's measurement system hardware (and/or

A system and method for online configuration of a measurement system. The user may access a computer over a network and specify a desired task, e.g., a measurement task, and receive programs and/or configuration information which are usable to configure the user's measurement system hardware (and/or software) to perform the desired task. Additionally, if the user does not have the hardware required to perform the task, the required hardware may be sent to the user, along with programs and/or configuration information. The hardware may be reconfigurable hardware, such as an FPGA or a processor/memory based device. In one embodiment, the required hardware may be pre-configured to perform the task before being sent to the user. In another embodiment, the system and method may provide a graphical program in response to receiving the user's task specification, where the graphical program may be usable by the measurement system to perform the task.

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We claim: 1. A method for configuring a measurement system, comprising wherein the method is performed by a computer having a processor, the method: a computer receiving one or more requirements for a measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the measurement system include

We claim: 1. A method for configuring a measurement system, comprising wherein the method is performed by a computer having a processor, the method: a computer receiving one or more requirements for a measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the measurement system includes one or more measurement devices, wherein the computer receives the one or more requirements over a wide area network; the computer determining one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements; receiving payment information to pay for the one or more software programs; and the computer providing the one or more software programs to the measurement system over the wide area network; wherein the one or more software programs are executable by the measurement system to perform at least a portion of the measurement task. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises the computer retrieving the one or more software programs from a memory medium based on the one or more requirements. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises the computer automatically generating the one or more software programs in response to the one or more requirements; wherein said automatically generating comprises automatically generating code in the one or more software programs without direct user input specifying the code. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more software programs includes at least one graphical program, wherein the at least one graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the graphical program. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more software programs includes at least one graphical program, wherein the at least one graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the graphical program; wherein the computer determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises: automatically generating the at least one graphical program in response to the one or more requirements; wherein said automatically generating comprises automatically generating the at least one graphical program without direct user input specifying the nodes or connections between the nodes. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and at least one measurement device coupled to or comprised in the client computer system; wherein the at least one measurement device comprises a processor and memory for executing the one or more software programs. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement system comprises a reconfigurable measurement device; wherein the reconfigurable measurement device comprises a processor and memory for executing the one or more software programs. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and one or more measurement devices coupled to or comprised in the client computer system; wherein the one or more software programs are executable by the client computer system to perform the measurement task using the one or more measurement devices. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement system includes a computer system, wherein the one or more measurement devices are coupled to or comprised in the computer system. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and at least one measurement device coupled to or comprised in the client computer system; wherein the one or more software programs comprises a plurality of software programs; wherein the at least one measurement device is operable to execute a first one or more software programs to perform a first portion of the measurement task. wherein the client computer system is operable to execute a second one or more software programs to perform a second portion of the measurement task. 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the computer determining configuration information in response to said one or more requirements; and the computer providing the configuration information to the measurement system over the wide area network; wherein the configuration information is useable to configure the measurement system to perform the measurement task. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement system comprises a programmable hardware element; the method further comprising: the computer determining a hardware configuration program in response to at least a portion of said one or more requirements; the computer providing the hardware configuration program to the measurement system over the wide area network; and wherein the hardware configuration program is usable for configuring the programmable hardware element to perform at least a portion of the measurement task. 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the computer providing a graphical user interface (GUI) to a computer system over the wide area network; the computer receiving user input provided to the GUI displayed on a display of the computer system, wherein the user input is received over the wide area network, wherein the user input indicates the one or more requirements for the measurement task. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer system is part of the measurement system. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement system includes a client computer system; the method further comprising: the client computer system receiving user input indicating the one or more requirements for the measurement task; the client computer system providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task to the computer over the wide area network. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) on a display of the client computer system; and wherein the client computer system receiving user input comprises the GUI receiving user input indicating the one or more requirements for the measurement task. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said displaying the GUI comprises displaying a plurality of panels on the display to guide a user of the client computer system in providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task. 18. The method of claim 16, wherein said displaying the GUI on the display of the client computer system comprises: displaying one or more device icons corresponding to respective ones of the one or more measurement devices in the measurement system; and displaying connections between the one or more device icons, wherein the displayed connections correspond to couplings between the one or more measurement devices; wherein the GUI iconically illustrates the measurement system; the method further comprising receiving user input to the GUI specifying one or more target measurement devices to execute the one or more software programs. 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: displaying one or more program icons associated with the one or more software programs; and associating a first program icon with a first device icon in response to user input, wherein the first program icon corresponds to a first program, wherein the first device icon corresponds to a first device, wherein said associating operates to store the first program on the first device. 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: displaying the first program icon proximate to the first device icon in response to said associating. 21. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the measurement system executing at least one of the one or more software programs to perform the measurement function; wherein said executing the at least one of the one or more software programs to perform the measurement function comprises: acquiring a signal from a signal source; and analyzing the signal after said acquiring. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein said signal source comprises one or more of a unit under test (UUT), a sensor, and an actuator. 23. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving payment information comprises the computer receiving the payment information to pay for the one or more software programs. 24. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving payment information comprises a payment server computer receiving the payment information to pay for the one or more software programs. 25. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more requirements comprise information indicating types of the one or more measurement devices. 26. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more requirements comprise information indicating desired operation of the one or more measurement devices. 27. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more requirements comprise information regarding two or more of signal type, sampling rate, timing, scaling, analysis function, and display function. 28. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the computer receiving information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system; wherein the computer also determines the one or more software programs based on the information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the computer receiving information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system comprises the computer programmatically determining information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system. 30. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more requirements comprise information specifying one or more target measurement devices to execute the one or more software programs. 31. The method of claim 1, further comprising: deploying the one or more software programs on the one or more measurement devices after said providing. 32. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more measurement devices comprise a plurality of measurement devices wherein the one or more software programs comprises a plurality of software programs; the method further comprising: deploying respective ones of the plurality of software programs on respective ones of the plurality of measurement devices after said providing. 33. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more requirements comprise information specifying one or more target measurement devices to execute the one or more software programs wherein the one or more measurement devices comprise a plurality of measurement devices wherein the one or more software programs comprises a plurality of software programs; the method further comprising: deploying respective ones of the plurality of software programs on respective ones of the plurality of measurement devices after said providing; wherein after said deploying a first measurement device is operable to execute a first one or more software programs to perform a first portion of the measurement task, and a second measurement device is operable to execute a second one or more software programs to perform a second portion of the measurement task. 34. A method for configuring a measurement system, comprising: a server computer receiving one or more requirements for a measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the computer server comprises a processor wherein the measurement system includes a computer system and at least one measurement device coupled to or comprised in the computer system, wherein the computer receives the one or more requirements over a wide area network; the server computer determining one or more software programs in response to the one or more requirements; and the server computer providing the one or more software programs to the computer system, wherein the one or more software programs are executable by the measurement system to perform at least a portion of the measurement task; wherein the measurement system is operable to execute the one or more software programs to perform the at least a portion of measurement task after said providing. 35. A method for configuring a measurement system, wherein the measurement system includes a client computer system and one or more measurement devices coupled to or comprised in the client computer system, the method comprising: receiving user input to the client computer system regarding a desired measurement task, wherein the user input comprises one or more requirements for the measurement task; providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task to a server computer over a wide area network wherein the server computer comprises a processor; the server computer receiving the one or more requirements for the measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the server computer receives the one or more requirements over the wide area network; the server computer determining one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements; the server computer providing the one or more software programs to the measurement system over the wide area network; and storing the one or more software programs in the measurement system; wherein the measurement system is operable to execute the one or more software programs to perform at least a portion of the measurement task after said providing. 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the server computer determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises retrieving the one or more software programs from a memory medium based on the one or more requirements. 37. The method of claim 35, wherein the server computer determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises automatically generating the one or more software programs in response to the one or more requirements; wherein said automatically generating comprises automatically generating code in the one or more software programs without direct user input specifying the code. 38. The method of claim 35, wherein the one or more software programs includes at least one graphical program, wherein the at least one graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the graphical program. 39. The method of claim 35, wherein the one or more software programs includes at least one graphical program, wherein the at least one graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the graphical program; wherein the server computer determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises: automatically generating the at least one graphical program in response to the one or more requirements; wherein said automatically generating comprises automatically generating the at least one graphical program without direct user input specifying the nodes or connections between the nodes. 40. The method of claim 35, wherein said storing comprises storing at least one measurement program on at least one measurement device for execution by the at least one measurement device. 41. The method of claim 35, further comprising: the client computer system providing payment information to pay for the one or more software programs. 42. The method of claim 35, further comprising: the server computer receiving payment information to pay for receipt of the one or more software programs. 43. A server computer system useable for configuring a measurement system, wherein the measurement system includes one or more measurement devices, the computer computer system comprising: a wide area network port for coupling to a wide area network, wherein the computer computer system is operable to couple to the measurement system over the wide area network; wherein the server computer system is operable to receive one or more requirements for a measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the server computer system receives the one or more requirements on the wide area network port from the wide area network; a processor; a memory medium comprising program instructions for determining one or more software programs based on the one or more requirements; wherein the server computer system is operable to provide the one or more software programs to the measurement system through the wide area network port over the wide area network. 44. A system, comprising: a measurement system, wherein the measurement system includes: one or more measurement devices; a display, wherein the display displays a graphical user interface for receiving user input indicating one or more requirements for a measurement task; a user input device, wherein the user input device is useable for providing input to the graphical user interface; and a first wide area network interface device for coupling to a wide area network; wherein the measurement system is operable to provide the one or more requirements for the measurement task over the wide area network; and a server computer system, comprising: a second wide area network interface device for coupling to the wide area network; wherein the server computer system is operable to couple to the measurement system over the wide area network, wherein the server computer system is operable to receive the one or more requirements for the measurement task to be performed by the measurement system; a processor; a memory medium coupled to the processor and comprising program instructions for determining one or more software programs in response to the one or more requirements; wherein the server computer system is operable to provide the one or more software programs to the measurement system over the wide area network; and wherein the measurement system is operable to execute the one or more software programs to perform at least a portion of the measurement task. 45. A method for configuring a measurement system, comprising: receiving user input indicating one or more requirements for a measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the measurement system comprises at least one device; providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task to a server computer over a wide area network; wherein the computer server comprises a processor the server computer determining one or more measurement software products in response to said one or more requirements; and the server computer downloading the one or more measurement software products over the wide area network and installing the one or more measurement software products on the at least one device; wherein said downloading and installing operate to configure the measurement system to perform a desired measurement task.