MCS260B
CORNERSTONE 260B MONOCHROMATORS
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15.3 COMMAND AND QUERY SYNTAX
For the purposes of this discussion, communication with the instrument is divided into two types.
Messages sent to the CS260B from the computer are
called “Statements”, and messages received
by the computer from the monochromator are
called “Responses”. When communicating with the
instrument, two types of Statements are used:
“Commands” and “Queries”. A Command causes
some physical action or sets an internal parameter. A Query asks a question of the instrument,
which returns a Response. Fundamentally, the syntax is the same for all messages.
Termination
Responses from the CS260B end with a carriage return (ASCII character code 13 decimal) and
linefeed (ASCII character code 10 decimal). The Detailed Command Reference in this Appendix
does not show the termination characters.
Capitalization
Statements may be sent in upper case, lower case, or in any combination of the two.
Parameters
Some Statements require a parameter, separated from the command by at least one space.
Numeric parameters can be strings representing either integers or floating point numbers. Some
commands accept alphabetic strings. Some commands accept more than one parameter;
parameters must be separated by a comma.
15.4 STANDARD MODE
Most communication with the CS260B, especially within
customers’ application software, uses
Standard mode (as opposed to Handshake mode).
In Standard mode the CS260B does not send the status byte after general Statements as in
Handshake mode. To select Standard mode, send the command “Handshake 0”.
In Standard mode, statements are handled as follows:
Commands
If Echo is turned on, the CS260B echoes back all characters it receives on the RS-232 port. Thus,
after sending a Command, an application must read back the echoed command. There is no
further response to a Command. Note: Statements received on the USB port are never echoed.
Example (RS-232, echo on):
Send: GOWAVE 500[cr][lf]
Response: GOWAVE 500[cr][lf]
Example (RS-232, echo off):
Send: GOWAVE 500[cr][lf]
Response: (none)
For commands received on the USB port, the CS260B sends no echo and no other response to a
command.
Example (USB):
Send: GOWAVE 500[cr][lf]
Response: (none)
