IEEE-488 is a short-range digital communications bus

Computer bus

In computer architecture, a bus is a subsystem that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between computers.Early computer buses were literally parallel electrical wires with multiple connections, but the term is now used for any physical arrangement that provides the same...

 specification. It was created for use with automated test equipment in the late 1960s, and is still in use for that purpose. IEEE-488 was created as HP-IB (Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus), and is commonly called GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus). It has been the subject of several standards.
In the late 1960s, Hewlett-Packard (HP)

Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...

 was manufacturing various automated test and measurement instruments, such as digital multimeter

Multimeter

A multimeter or a multitester, also known as a VOM , is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several measurement functions in one unit. A typical multimeter may include features such as the ability to measure voltage, current and resistance...

s and logic analyzer

Logic analyzer

A logic analyzer is an electronic instrument which displays signals in a digital circuit. A logic analyzer may convert the captured data into timing diagrams, protocol decodes, state machine traces, assembly language, or correlate assembly with source-level software.Presently, there are three...

s.