4-3
IM 701310-17E
Before Programming
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App
Index
4.2 Commands
• When Concatenating Commands of the Same
Group
The instrument stores the hierarchical level of the
command that is currently being executed, and
performs analysis on the assumption that the next
command sent will also belong to the same level.
Therefore, common header sections can be omitted
for commands belonging to the same group.
Example
:ACQuire:MODE NORMal;
INTERLeave 1<PMT>
• When Concatenating Commands of Different
Groups
If the following command does not belong to the
same group, a colon (
:
) is placed in front of the
header (cannot be omitted).
Example
:ACQuire:MODE NORMal;:DISPlay:
FORMat SINGle<PMT>
• When Concatenating Simple Headers
If a simple header follows another command, a
colon (
:
) is placed in front of the simple header
(cannot be omitted).
Example
:ACQuire:MODE NORMal;:
STARt<PMT>
• When Concatenating Common Commands
Common commands that are defined in the
USBTMC-USB488 are independent of hierarchy.
Colons (
:
) are not needed before a common
command.
Example
:ACQuire:MODE NORMal;*CLS;
INTERLeave 1<PMT>
• When Separating Commands with <PMT>
If a terminator is used to separate two commands,
each command is a separate message. Therefore,
the common header must be specified for each
command even when commands belonging to the
same command group are being concatenated.
Example
:ACQuire:MODE NORMal<PMT>:
ACQuire:INTERLeave 1<PMT>
Commands
There are three types of commands (program headers)
that are sent from the controller to the instrument.
They differ in their program header formats.
Common Command Header
Commands that are defined in the USBTMC-USB488
are called common commands. The header format of
a common command is shown below. An asterisk (*) is
always placed in the beginning of a cmmand.
*
<Mnemonic>
?
Common command example:
*CLS
Compound Header
Dedicated commands used by the instrument are
classified and arranged in a hierarchy according to
their functions. The format of a compound header is
shown below. A colon (:) must be used to specify a
lower hiearchy.
:
<Mnemonic>
?
:
Compound header example:
:ACQuire:MODE
Simple Header
These commands are functionally independent and do
not have a hierarchy. The format of a simple header is
shownbelow.
<Mnemonic>
?
:
Simple header example:
:STARt
Note
A <mnemonic> is a character string made up of
alphanumeric characters.
When Concatenating Commands
• Command Group
A command group is a group of commands that have
common compound headers arranged in a hierarchy.
A command group may contain sub-groups.
Example Group of commands related to acquisition
:ACQuire:AVERage:COUNt
:ACQuire:MODE
:ACQuire:AVERage:EWEight
:ACQuire:REPetitive
:ACQuire:RLENgth
:ACQuire:INTERLeave