Keysight Technologies 86120B, User Manual

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104
Programming
Reviewing SCPI Syntax Rules
Programs written in long form are easily read and are almost self-documenting.
Using short form commands conserves the amount of controller memory needed for
program storage and reduces the amount of I/O activity.
The rules for creating short forms from the long form is as follows:
The mnemonic is the first four characters of the keyword unless the fourth character
is a vowel, in which case the mnemonic is the first three characters of the keyword.
This rule is not used if the length of the keyword is exactly four characters.
You can use upper or lowercase letters
Program headers can be sent using any combination of uppercase or lowercase
ASCII characters. Instrument responses, however, are always returned in uppercase.
Combine commands in the same subsystem
You can combine commands from the same subsystem provided that they are both
on the same level in the subsystem’s hierarchy. Simply separate the commands with
a semi-colon (;). For example, the following two lines,
OUTPUT 720;”:CALC2:PEXC 12”
OUTPUT 720;”:CALC2:PTHR 20”
can be combined into one line:
OUTPUT 720;”:CALC2:PEXC 12;PTHR 20”
The semicolon separates the two functions.
Combine commands from different subsystems
You can send commands and program queries from different subsystems on the
same line. Simply precede the new subsystem by a semicolon followed by a colon.
In the following example, the colon and semicolon pair before DISP allows you to
send a command from another subsystem.
Table 4-9. Examples of Short Forms
Long Form Equivalent Short Form
ROUTE ROUT
LAYER LAY
SYSTEM SYST
ERROR ERR