Short-Form Rules; Program Messages - Keithley 2016 User Manual

4-30 Remote Operation

Short-form rules

Use the following rules to determine the short-form version of any SCPI command:
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Program messages

A program message is made up of one or more command words sent by the computer to the
instrument. Each common command is simply a three letter acronym preceded by an asterisk
(*). SCPI commands are categorized in the :STATus subsystem and are used to help explain how
command words are structured to formulate program messages.
:STATus
:OPERation
:PRESet
If the length of the command word is four letters or less, no short form version exists.
Example:
:auto = :auto
These rules apply to command words that exceed four letters:
If the fourth letter of the command word is a vowel, delete it and all the letters after it.
Example
:immediate = :imm
Rule exception - The short form version of the following command uses only the first
two letters of the word:
:TCouple = :tc
If the fourth letter of the command word is a consonant, retain it but drop all the letters
after it. Example:
:format = :form
If the command contains a question mark (?; query) or a non-optional number included
in the command word, you must include it in the short-form version. Example:
:delay? = :del?
Command words or characters that are enclosed in brackets ([ ]) are optional and need
not be included in the program message.
Path (Root)
Path
:ENABle <NRf>
:ENABle?
Command
Command and parameter
Query command