Command Syntax; Letters; White Space; Table 3.1 Ansi/Ieee-488 Terminology - ILX Lightwave FPM-8200 User Manual

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C H A P T E R

Command Syntax

The discussions below describe command syntax and structure. You need this
information to effectively write GPIB control programs for the FPM-8200. The
syntax of FPM-8200 GPIB commands follow the rules defined in the ANSI/IEEE-
488 standard.
ANSI/IEEE-488 uses standard terminology. To clarify understanding, we use
simpler terms for this manual. See Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 ANSI/IEEE-488 Terminology

Standard Term
Program Message
Program Message Unit
Program Header
Program Data

Letters

Any GPIB command or query must contain all of the letters which are shown in
upper case in the command definition. Some of the device dependent commands
include additional optional letters shown in lower case in the command reference
(Chapter 4). Upper/lower case does not matter to the FPM-8200, it is just used in
this manual to identify optional letters. The optional letters must be in the correct
sequence. Some examples of what works, and what does not:
Okay
DIS
Disp
Displ
Displa
Display
The extra letters are allowed so you can make your control programs more
readable.

White Space

"White space" is normally the space character (space bar). A single white space
must separate a command from its parameters or data. For example:
Okay
DELAY 500
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 FPM-8200
R E M O T E O P E R A T I O N
Command Syntax
In This Manual
Command String
Command
Command Mnemonic
Parameters, or Data
Not Okay
DS
dsp
dply
DSPLY
disply
Not Okay
DELAY500