Soft instrumentation uses graphical editors and application editors to control processing without hard wiring. Graphical editors allow creating panels with icons that can be wired together, application editors control processing textually or through task sheets assigned to graphical elements. Soft instrumentation can interface with hardware over COM and parallel ports sometimes with network support, and addresses issues like distributing applications, simulation, and using soft hardware. It will be an important future technology for withstanding challenges of increasingly complex designs and functionality.