Agilent Technologies E3631-90002, User Manual, Page: 103 / 166

Chapter 4 Remote Interface Reference
An Introduction to the SCPI Language
102
An Introduction to the SCPI Language
SCPI (
Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments
) is an
ASCII-based instrument command language designed for test and
measurement instruments.
Refer to
“
Simplified Programming Overview”,
starting on page 70 for an introduction to the basic techniques used to
program the power supply over the remote interface
.
SCPI commands are based on a hierarchical structure, also known as a
tree
system
. In this system, associated commands are grouped together under a
common node or root, thus forming
subsystems.
A portion of the
SOURce
subsystem is shown below to illustrate the tree system.
[SOURce:]
CURRent {
<current>
|MIN|MAX}
CURRent? [MIN|MAX]
CURRent:
TRIGgered {
<current>
|MIN|MAX}
TRIGgered?{MIN|MAX}
VOLTage {
<voltage>
|MIN|MAX}
VOLTage? [MIN|MAX]
VOLTage:
TRIGgered {
<voltage>
|MIN|MAX}
TRIGgered? {MIN|MAX}
SOURce
is the root keyword of the command,
CURRent
and
VOLTage
are
second-level keywords, and
TRIGgered
is third-level keywords. A colon (:)
separates a command keyword from a lower-level keyword.