Essentials For Beginners; Program And Response Messages; Forgiving Listening And Precise Talking - HP 8360 L Series User Manual

Program and Response
Messages
1-66 Getting Started Programming
This subsection discusses elementary concepts critical to first-time
users of SCPI. Read and understand this subsection before going on
to another. This subsection includes the following topics:
Program and Response
Messages
Subsystem Command Trees
Subsystem Command Tables
Reading Instrument Errors
Example Programs
To understand how your instrument and controller communicate
using SCPI, you must understand the concepts of program and
Program messages
response messages.
from the controller to the instrument. Conversely, response
are the formatted data sent from the instrument to the controller.
Program messages contain one or more commands, and response
messages contain one or more responses.
The controller may send commands at any time, but the instrument
sends responses only when specifically instructed to do so. The
special type of command used to instruct the instrument to send
a response message is the
question mark. Queries return either measured values or internal
instrument settings. Any internal setting that can be programmed
with SCPI can also be queried.

Forgiving Listening and Precise Talking

SCPI uses the concept of forgiving listening and precise talking
488.2. Forgiving listening
outlined in IEEE
are very flexible in accepting various command and parameter
formats. For example, the swept CW generator accepts either
: POWer : STATe ON or : POWer : STATe
talking
means that the response format for a particular query is
always the same. For example, if you query the power state when it
is on (using :POWer:STATe?), the response is always
whether you previously sent :POWer : STATe
These paragraphs introduce the
basic types of messages sent between
instruments and controllers.
These paragraphs describe the
tree structure used in subsystem
commands.
These paragraphs present the
condensed tabular format used for
documenting subsystem commands.
These paragraphs explain how to read
and print an instrument's internal
error messages.
These paragraphs contain two simple
measurement programs that illustrate
basic SCPI programming principles.
are the formatted data sent
query.
All query mnemonics end with a
means that instruments
1
to turn RF output on.
1
or : POWer : STATe ON.
messages
Precise
1,
regardless of