Specifications

Chapter 2 19
Programming Command Guidelines
Getting Started with Programming Commands
2. Programming Command
Guidelines
Standard Notation
This section uses several forms of notation that have specific meaning:
Command Mnemonics Many commands have both a long and a short form and
you must use either one or the other (a combination of the two is
not allowed). Consider the :FREQuency command, for example.
The short form is :FREQ and the long form is :FREQUENCY.
This notation type is a shorthand to document both the long and
short form of commands. Programming commands are not case
sensitive, so :fREquEnCy is just as valid as :FREQUENCY, but
:FREQ and :FREQUENCY are the only valid forms of the
:FREQuency command.
Angle Brackets Angle brackets indicate that the word or words enclosed
represent something other than themselves. For example, <new
line> represents the ASCII character with the decimal value 10.
Words in angle brackets have much more rigidly defined
meaning than words shown in ordinary text. For example, this
section uses the word “message” to talk about messages
generally. But the bracketed words <program message> indicate
a precisely defined element of the commands. If you need them,
you can find the exact definitions of words such as <program
message> in a syntax diagram.
Query and Event Commands
You can query any value that you can set. For example, the
:RESults:RAMP:MARKer:POSition <num> commands imply that the
:RESults:RAMP:MARKer:POSition? query commands also exist. If you see a
command ending with a question mark, it is a query-only command. Some
commands are events and cannot be queried. An event has no corresponding
setting if it causes something to happen inside the instrument at a particular instant.