8163A/B, 8164A/B & 8166A/B Mainframes Programming Guide
15
Introduction to Programming
1
Programming and Syntax Diagram Conventions
A program message is a message containing commands or queries that
you send to the instruments. The following are a few points about program
messages:
• You can use either upper-case or lower-case characters.
• You can send several commands in a single message. Each command
must be separated from the next one by a semicolon (
;
).
• A command message is ended by a line feed character (LF) or
<CR><LF>.
• You can use any valid number/unit combination.
In other words, 1500NM,1.5UM and 1.5E-6M are all equivalent.
If you do not specify a unit, then the default unit is assumed. The
default unit for the commands are given with command description in
the next chapter.
Short Form and Long Form
The instrument accepts messages in short or long forms.
For example, the message
:STATUS:OPERATION:ENABLE 768
is in long form.
The short form of this message is
:
STAT:OPER:ENAB 768
In this manual, the messages are written in a combination of upper and
lower case. Upper case characters are used for the short form of the
message.
For example, the above command would be written
:
STATus:OPERation:ENABle
The first colon can be left out for the first command or query in your
message. That is, the example given above could also be sent as
STAT:OPER:ENAB 768
Command and Query Syntax
All characters not between angled brackets must be sent exactly as
shown.
