Additional Basics on Remote Control
R&S
®
NGA100
114
User Manual 5601.8919.02 ─ 03
are device-specific, however, their syntax follows SCPI rules as permitted by the
standard.
Instrument responses
Instrument responses (response messages and service requests) are messages which
the instrument sends to the controller after a query. They can contain measurement
results, instrument settings and information on the instrument status.
A.1.2
SCPI Command Structure
SCPI commands consist of a so-called header and, usually, one or more parameters.
The header and the parameters are separated by a whitespace. The headers can con-
sist of several mnemonics (keywords). Queries are formed by appending a question
mark directly to the header. The commands can be either device-specific or device-
independent (common commands). Common and device-specific commands differ in
their syntax.
Syntax for Common Commands
Common (= device-independent) commands consist of a header preceded by an aster-
isk (*) and possibly one or more parameters.
Table A-1: Examples of Common Commands
Command
Command Name
Description
*RST
Reset
Resets the instrument.
*ESE
Event Status Enable
Sets the bits of the event status
enable registers.
*ESR?
Event Status Query
Queries the content of the event
status register.
*IDN?
Identification Query
Queries the instrument identifica-
tion string.
Syntax for Device-Specific Commands
For demonstration purposes only, assume the existence of the following commands for
this section:
●
MEASure:CURRent[:DC]?
●
MEASure:VOLTage[:DC]?
●
FUSE[:STATe] {0 | 1}
●
FUSE[:STATe]?
Long and short form
The mnemonics feature a long form and a short form. The short form is marked by
uppercase letters, the long form corresponds to the complete word. You can enter
either the short form or the long form; other abbreviations are not permitted.
Messages and Command Structure
