Units; Data Types - HP 8163A Series Programming Manual

Introduction to Programming
Unit
meters
decibel
second
decibel/1mW
Hertz
Watt
meters per second M/S
20
Descriptions of these items follow the syntax description. The following types of
data are most commonly used:
string
value
wsp
Other kinds of data are described as required.
The characters between square brackets ([...]) show optional information that
you can include with the message.
The bar (|) shows an either-or choice of data, for example, a|b means either a or
b, but not both simultaneously.
Extra spaces are ignored, so spaces can be inserted to improve readability.

Units

Where units are given with a command, usually only the base units are specified.
The full sets of units are given in the table below.
Default
M
DB
S
DBM
HZ
Watt
Table 2 Units and allowed Mnemonics

Data Types

With the commands you give parameters to the instrument and receive response
values from the instrument. Unless explicitly specified these data are given in
ASCII format. The following types of data are used:
• Boolean data may only have the values 0 or 1.
• Integer range is given for each individual command.
• Float variables may be given in decimal or exponential writing (0.123 or
123E-3).
All Float values conform to the 32 bit IEEE Standard, that is, all Float values
are returned as 32-bit real values.
• A string is contained between double quotes ("...") or single quotes ('...').
When the instrument returns a string, it is always included in " " and
terminated by <END>.
HP 8163A Lightwave Multimeter, HP 8164A Lightwave Measurement System,
& HP 8166A Lightwave Multichannel System User's Guide, E1299
Programming and Syntax Diagram Conventions
is ascii data. A string is contained between double
quotes ("...") or single quotes ('...').
is numeric data in integer (12), decimal (34.5) or ex-
ponential format (67.8E-9).
is a white space.
Allowed Mnemonics
PM, NM, UM, MM, M
MDB, DB
NS, US, MS, S
MDBM, DBM
HZ, KHZ, MHZ, GHZ, THZ
PW, NW, UW, MW, Watt
NM/S, UM/S, MM/S, M/S