Instruction manual

Introduction to SCPI Language

Here are some conventions used in SCPI standard:

♦ A command consists of a command keyword (command name) and a

parameter (it may be optional or not)

♦ Lower case and upper case letters are considered equivalent

♦ Letter case is used to differentiate between the accepted short form (the

uppercase characters) and the long form (the whole keyword)

♦ Square brackets ( [ ] ) are used to enclose:

♦ a keyword that is optional when programming the command

♦ one or more parameters that are optional when controlling the

instruments.

If no parameter is specified, default parameter is considered.

The braces are not sent with the command string.

♦ Braces or curly brackets ( {} ) are used to enclose one or more parameters

that may be included zero or more times.

The braces are not sent with the command string.

♦ The angle brackets (<>) are used to enclose the type name.

A value of the specified type must be added to the command.

The angle brackets are not sent with the command string.

♦ The vertical bar ( | ) can be read as “or” and it is used to separate

alternative parameter options.

Only one parameter can be sent with the command.

♦ The query form of a command is generated by appending a question mark

to the last keyword. Not all commands have a query form and some

commands exist only in query form.