User guide

100 Rev. 5
Remote Interface Reference
SCPI Introduction
*ETE <enable_value>
*ETE?
*TRG
4.2 Programming Overview
The Model 430 Programmer conforms to the SCPI (Standard Commands
for Programmable Instruments) IEEE standard. The SCPI standard is an
ASCII-based specification designed to provide a consistent command
structure for instruments from various manufacturers.
The Model 430 Programmer also implements a status system for
monitoring the state of the Model 430 through the Standard Event and
Status Byte registers.
4.2.1 SCPI Language Introduction
SCPI commands conform to a tree structure where commands are grouped
according to common keywords. For example, commands which set a
Model 430 Programmer setup or operating parameter begin with the
keyword CONFigure. The keywords are shown in upper case and lower
case to indicate acceptable abbreviations. For the example keyword
CONFigure, the user may send either the abbreviated form of CONF, or the
entire keyword CONFIGURE. Any other form of the keyword is illegal and
will generate an error.
Many commands also require multiple keywords to traverse the tree
structure of the entire Model 430 Programmer command set. For example,
commands associated with a current setting require the prefix of
CONFigure:CURRent. Note that a colon ( : ) separates the keywords. No
spaces are allowed before or after the colon. Parameters must be separated
from the command keyword(s) by at least one space.
4.2.2 SCPI Status System
The Model 430 Programmer status system reports various conditions of
the instrument in two registers groups shown in Figure 4-1. The register
groups consist of a condition or event register, and an enable register
which controls the actions of specific bits within the condition or event
registers
A condition register continuously monitors the state of the instrument.
The bits of a condition register are updated in real time. A condition
register is read-only and is not cleared when you read the register. A query
of a condition register returns a decimal value in the appropriate output
buffer which corresponds to the binary-weighted sum of all bits set in the
register.