Technical data

SCPI Basics 6
Agilent N8211A/N8212A Performance Upconverter Synthetic Instrument Module, 250 kHz to 20 / 40 GHz 155
SCPI Basics
This section describes the general use of the SCPI language for the N8211A/N8212A. It is
not intended to teach you everything about the SCPI language; the SCPI Consortium or IEEE
can provide that level of detailed information. For a list of the specific commands available
for the N8211A/N8212A, refer to the table of contents.
For additional information, refer to the following publications:
• IEEE Standard 488.1-1987, IEEE Standard Digital Interface for Programmable
Instrumentation. New York, NY, 1998.
• IEEE Standard 488.2-1992, IEEE Standard Codes, Formats, Protocols and Command
Commands for Use with ANSI/IEEE Standard 488.1-1987. New York, NY, 1998.
Common Terms
The following terms are used throughout the remainder of this section:
Command A command is an instruction in SCPI consisting of mnemonics (keywords),
parameters (arguments), and punctuation. You combine commands to form messages that
control instruments.
Controller A controller is any device used to control the N8211A/N8212A, for example a
computer or another instrument.
Event Command Some commands are events and cannot be queried. An event has no
corresponding setting; it initiates an action at a particular time.
Program Message A program message is a combination of one or more properly
formatted commands. Program messages are sent by the controller to the
N8211A/N8212A.
Query A query is a special type of command used to instruct the N8211A/N8212A to
make response data available to the controller. A query ends with a question mark.
Generally you can query any command value that you set.
Response Message A response message is a collection of data in specific SCPI formats
sent from the N8211A/N8212A to the controller. Response messages tell the controller
about the internal state of the N8211A/N8212A.
Command Syntax
A typical command is made up of keywords prefixed with colons (:). The keywords are
followed by parameters. The following is an example syntax statement:
[:SOURce]:POWer[:LEVel] MAXimum|MINimum