Agilent Technologies 8712ET Programmer's Manual page 112

Introduction to SCPI
Introduction to SCPI
Introduction to SCPI
This chapter is a guide to GPIB control of the analyzer. Its purpose is to
provide concise information about the operation of the analyzer under
GPIB control. The reader should already be familiar with making
measurements with the analyzer and with the general operation of
GPIB.
Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) is a
programming language designed specifically for controlling instruments
by Agilent Technologies and other industry leaders. SCPI provides
commands that are common from one instrument to another. This
elimination of "device specific" commands for common functions allows
programs to be used on different instruments with very little
modification.
SCPI was developed to conform to the IEEE 488.2 standard (replacing
IEEE 728-1982). The IEEE 488.2 standard defines the syntax and data
formats used to send data between devices, the structure of status
registers, and the commands used for common tasks. For more
information, refer to the IEEE standard itself. SCPI defines the
commands used to control device-specific functions, the parameters
accepted by these functions, and the values they return.
9-2 Programmer's Guide