SCPI Programming Reference
HDG2000 Series Arbitrary Waveform Generator
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(
[ ]
). This indicates that the element is optional and can be omitted. The brackets are not sent
with the command string. If you do not specify a value for an optional parameter, the
instrument chooses a default value.
Command Separators
A colon (
:
) is used to separate a command keyword from a lower-level keyword. You must insert
a blank space to separate a parameter from a command keyword.
Using the MIN andMAX Parameters
For many commands, you can substitute "MIN" or "MAX" in place of a parameter. For example,
consider the following command:
SOURce<n>:VOLTage:OFFSet <offset>|MINimum|MAXimum
Instead of selecting a specific value for the <
offset
> parameter, you can substitute MIN to set the
offset to its minimum value, MAX to set the offset to its maximum value.
SCPI Command Terminators
A command string sent to the instrument must terminate with a <new line> (<NL>) character. The
IEEE-488 EOI(End-Or-Identify) message is interpreted as a <NL> character and can be used to
terminate a command string in place of a <NL> character. A <carriage return> followed by a <NL>
is also accepted. Command string termination will always reset the current SCPI command path to
the root level.
IEEE-488.2 Common Commands
The IEEE-488.2 standard defines a set of common commands that perform functions such as
reset, self-test, and status operations. Common commands always begin with an asterisk (
*
), are
three characters in length, and may include one or more parameters. The command keyword is
separated from the first parameter by a blank space. Use a semicolon (
;
) to separate multiple
commands as shown below:
*RST
;
*CLS
;
*ESE 32
;
*OPC?
SCPI Parameter Types
The SCPI language defines several data formats to be used in program messages and response
messages.
Numeric Parameters
Commands that require numeric parameters will accept all commonly used decimal
representations of numbers including optional signs, decimal points, and scientific notation.
Special values for numeric parameters such as MIN and MAX are also accepted. You can also
send engineering unit suffixes with numeric parameters (e.g., M, k, m, or u). If a command accepts
only certain specific values, the instrument will automatically round the input numeric parameters
to the accepted values. The following command requires a numeric parameter for the frequency