In this section:
Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments .............. 4-1
Conventions ............................................................................. 4-1
Commands to use with the Series 2230G ................................ 4-2
Types of SCPI messages ......................................................... 4-2
Command execution rules........................................................ 4-3
Case sensitivity ........................................................................ 4-3
Long-form and short-form versions .......................................... 4-4
The message unit ..................................................................... 4-4
Multiple commands in a message ............................................ 4-6
Including common commands .................................................. 4-7
SCPI data formats .................................................................... 4-7
Response messages ................................................................ 4-9
SCPI command completion .................................................... 4-10
Using device clear .................................................................. 4-10
Default setup .......................................................................... 4-11
Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments
Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) is a standard programming language for
controlling instrument functions over GPIB and USB connections. SCPI programming language acts
as an interface for the hardware-portion of the IEEE 488-2 standard. The SCPI commands and
parameters can be used to control different classes of instruments using the same code.
This section is an overview of how SCPI commands are constructed and how they are used with the
Series 2230G.
Detailed command descriptions are available in the
(on page 5-1).
Conventions
The following table describes the typographical conventions used in this section of the manual.
Symbol Name
Usage
< >
Angle brackets
The italicized text within angle brackets is a placeholder for parameters that
you enter. For example,
<
NR1
>
indicates a specific form of numerical data.
|
Vertical line
The vertical line separates optional parameters. For example, NORM|TEXT
indicates that either NORM or TEXT can be used as a parameter.
[ ]
Square brackets
The parameter within square brackets is optional and can be omitted. For
example, [SOURce:]VOLTage indicates that SOURce: can be omitted.
{ }
Curly braces
The parameter within curly braces can be omitted or entered one or more
times. It is used mostly for representing arrays. The notation <A>{<,B>}
means that parameter A must be entered, but parameter B may be omitted
or may be used one or more times.
Section 4
Introduction to SCPI