Scpi Command Programming Notes; Scpi Command Formatting - Keithley 2450 Reference Manual

Section 5: Introduction to SCPI commands
The examples above show commands that are sent individually. You can also group command
messages when you send them to the instrument. To group a set of commands, separate them with
semicolons. For example, to reset the instrument, enable relative offset, and set a relative offset of
0.5 for the current function in the same message, send the command:
*RST; SENSe:CURRent:REL:STAT ON; :SENSe:CURRent:RELative .5
The colon (:) at the beginning of a command is optional. For example, the following commands are
equivalent:
:SENSe:CURRent:REL:STAT ON
SENSe:CURRent:REL:STAT ON

SCPI command programming notes

This section contains general information about using Standard Commands for Programmable
Instruments (SCPI).

SCPI command formatting

This section describes the formatting that this manual uses when discussing SCPI commands.
SCPI command short and long forms
This documentation shows SCPI commands with both uppercase and lowercase letters. The
uppercase letters are the required elements of a command. The lowercase letters are optional.
However, if you choose to include the letters that are shown in lowercase letters, you must include all
of them.
When you send a command to the instrument, case is not important — you can mix uppercase and
lowercase letters in program messages.
For example, you can send the command SENSe:COUNt in any of the following formats:
SENSe:COUNt
sense:count
SENS:COUN
Sens:Coun
Optional command words
If a command word is enclosed in brackets ([ ]), the command word is optional. Do not include the
brackets if you send the optional command word to the instrument.
For example, you can send the command :SYSTem:BEEPer[:IMMediate] <n1>, <n2> in any of
the following formats:
:SYSTem:BEEPer:IMMediate 500, 1
:SYSTem:BEEPer 500, 1
:SYST:BEEP:IMMediate 500, 1
:SYST:BEEP 500, 1
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Model 2450 Interactive SourceMeter® Instrument Reference Manual
2450-901-01 Rev. B/September 2013