In the preceding chapters, we sat up our system in somewhat a "Lab" or hypothetical conditions; that is, we assumed that all necessary tools (hardware and software) are provided as we needed them. The second premise throughout those chapters was that our hypothetical goals would be completely fulfilled by what tools we used. In reality, in most cases we have to work in mixed mode situations where we do not have the luxury to need only "simple" measurements or to be able to use equipment all built by the same manufacturer (so that there would not be any cross incompatibility) and with all connections, cabling, and software working in perfect harmony; all using the latest and greatest versions of software without crashes, freezes, and blue screens.
In fact, in more cases than not, engineers need to work with systems that are all or partially inherited from other engineers or previous tasks and they include a mix of hardware and software. Obviously, there...