Agilent Technologies E3646A, User Manual, Page: 116 / 211

Chapter 4 Remote Interface Reference
An Introduction to the SCPI Language
116
Command Format Used in This Manual
The format used to show commands in this manual is shown below:
CURRent {<current>|MINimum|MAXimum|UP|DOWN}
The command syntax shows most commands (and some parameters) as a mixture of
upper- and lower-case letters. The upper-case letters indicate the abbreviated spelling
for the command. For shorter program lines, send the abbreviated form. For better
program readability, send the long form.
For example, in the above syntax statement,
CURR
and
CURRENT
are both acceptable
forms. You can use upper- or lower-case letters. Therefore,
CURRENT
,
curr
, and
Curr
are all acceptable. Other forms, such as
CUR
and
CURREN
, will generate an
error.
Braces ( { } ) enclose the parameter choices for a given command string. The braces
are not sent with the command string.
A
vertical bar ( | ) separates multiple parameter choices for a given command string.
Triangle brackets ( < > ) indicate that you must specify a value for the enclosed
parameter. For example, the above syntax statement shows the current parameter
enclosed in triangle brackets. The brackets are not sent with the command string. You
must specify a value for the parameter (such as ‘‘
CURR 0.1
”).
Some parameters are enclosed in square brackets ( [ ] ). The brackets indicate that the
parameter is optional and can be omitted. The brackets are not sent with the command
string. If you do not specify a value for an optional parameter, the power supply
chooses a default value.
Some portions of commands are enclosed in square brackets( [ ] ). The brackets
indicate that this portion of the command is optional. Most optional portions of the
command are not shown in the command description. For the full command showing
all the options, see ‘‘SCPI Command Summary’’, starting on page 75.
A
colon ( : ) separates a command keyword from a lower-level keyword. You must
insert a blank space to separate a parameter from a command keyword. If a command
requires more than one parameter, you must separate adjacent parameter using a
comma as shown below:
‘‘
SOURce:CURRent:TRIGgered ’’
‘‘
APPLy 3.5,1.5
’’