PyVISA: the Python Instrumentation Package

Data-driven science requires reliable data generation, and in modern instrumentation software plays a central role to achieve this goal.Computer-controlled experiments allow for complex synchronization of sensors and actuators.Moreover, as it was already recognized decades ago, they enable on-line analysis routines to steer the experiment in real time (Enke, 1982).When combined with programming best practices, instrumentation software fosters reproducible, traceable, and open science.