Commands And Queries - Newport 6100 User Manual

Computer Interfacing
5.5

Commands and Queries

There are two types of device commands: commands that cause the
instrument to take a desired action, and queries that return a stored value or
state of the instrument. Queries must end with a question mark (?), while
commands may require parameter(s) to follow:
For example, the value "10.00" in the command TEC:LIMit:Ite 50.00 sets
the output current limit at 10.00. The command/query MUST contain all of
the letters shown in upper-case; lower-case letters in the commands are
optional, and may be used for clarity.
The commands may be sent to the instrument in either upper or lower case or
in any combination. For example, the following commands are equal:
COMMAND EXECUTION:
The controller interprets the commands in the order they are received and
executes them sequentially. If a set of commands have to be executed closer
to each other, these commands can be sent to the controller simultaneously
by creating a command string with semicolon (;) used as a command
separator. The command string length should not exceed 50 characters. In
the example shown below, a command string was created with semicolon
separating 5 queries. The controller responds to this command string with a
response that has 5 values using a comma (,) as a separator.
COMMAND TERMINATION:
All commands sent to the instrument must be terminated by <Carriage
Return><Line Feed>.characters. All responses sent out by the instrument are
terminated by the same characters.
TEC:LIMit:Ite 10.00
TEC:LIMit:ITE 10.00
TEC:LIM:ITE 10.00
tec:LIM:ITE 10.00
Tec:Lim:Ite 10.00
COMMAND STRING:
TEC:OUT?;TEC:SET:I?;TEC:ITE?;TEC:VTE?
INSTRUMENT RESPONSE:
0, 5.0,0.0,0.00
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