Agilent Technologies 34401A - Manual (Page 164)

IEEE-488.2 Common Commands
The IEEE -488.2 standard defines a set of common commands that
perform functions like reset, self-test, and status operations. Common
commands always begin with an asterisk ( * ), are four to five characters
in length, and may include one or more parameters. The command
keyword is separated from the first parameter by a blank space.
Use a semicolon ( ; ) to separate multiple commands as shown below:
"*RST; *CLS; *ESE 32; *OPC?"
SCPI Parameter Types
The SCPI language defines several different data formats to be used in
program messages and response messages.
Numeric Parameters Commands that require numeric parameters
will accept all commonly used decimal representations of numbers
including optional signs, decimal points, and scientific notation.
Special values for numeric parameters like
MINimum , MAXimum , and
DEFault are also accepted. You can also send engineering unit suffixes
with numeric parameters (e.g., M , K , or u ). If only specific numeric
values are accepted, the multimeter will automatically round the input
numeric parameters. The following command uses a numeric parameter:
VOLTage:DC:RANGe {< range >|MINimum|MAXimum}
Discrete Parameters Discrete parameters are used to program
settings that have a limited number of values (like
BUS , IMMediate ,
EXTernal ). They have a short form and a long form just like command
keywords. You can mix upper- and lower-case letters. Query responses
will always return the short form in all upper-case letters. The following
command uses discrete parameters:
TRIGger:SOURce {BUS|IMMediate|EXTernal}
Chapter 4 Remote Interface Reference
An Introduction to the SCPI Language
158