# Device and Board Functions

Device functions are high-level functions that execute command sequences to handle bus management operations required for operations such as reading from and writing to devices or polling devices for status. Device functions access a specific device and handle the addressing and bus management protocol for that device. You do not need to know any GPIB protocol or bus management details. A descriptor of the accessed device is one of the arguments of the function.

In contrast, board functions are low-level functions that perform rudimentary GPIB operations. They are necessary because high-level functions might not always meet the requirements of applications. In such cases, low-level functions offer the flexibility needed to meet your application requirements.

Board functions access the GPIB interface directly and require you to configure the addressing and bus management protocol for the bus. A descriptor of the accessed board is one of the arguments of the function.