The way electronic instruments are built is changing in a deeply fundamental
way. It is making an evolutionary leap to a new method of design that is being
called synthetic instruments. This new method promises to be the most
significant advance in electronic test and instrumentation since the
introduction of automated test equipment (ATE). The switch to synthetic
instruments is beginning now, and it will profoundly affect all test and
measurement equipment that will be developed in the future. Synthetic
instruments are like ordinary instruments in that they are specific to a
particular measurement or test. They might be a voltmeter that measures voltage,
or a spectrum analyzer