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46 Remote Programming
GPIB Capabilities of the Power supply
All power supply functions except for setting the GPIB address are programmable over the IEEE 488 bus (also known as
the General Purpose Interface Bus or "GPIB"). The IEEE 488.1 capabilities of the power supply are listed in the
Supplemental Characteristics in Table A-2. The power supply operates from a GPIB address that is set from the front panel
(see System Considerations at the end of this chapter).
Introduction To SCPI
lmportant Learn the basics of power supply operation (see Chapter 5 - "Front Panel Operation" ) before using SCPI.
SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) is a programming language for controlling instrument functions
over the GPIB (IEEE 488) instrument bus. SCPI is intended to function with standard GPIB hardware and conforms to the
IEEE Standard Digital Interface for Programmable Instrumentation. SCPI is layered on top of the hardware portion of
IEEE 488.2. The same SCPI commands and parameters control the same functions in different classes of instruments. For
example, you would use the same DISPlay command to control the power supply display state and the display state of a
SCPI-compatible multimeter.
Note HPSL and TMSL (Test and Measurement System Language) were earlier versions of SCPI. If you have
programmed in either, then you probably can go directly to "Chapter 3 - Language Dictionary".
Conventions
The following conventions are used throughout this chapter:
Angle brackets < > Items within angle brackets are parameter abbreviations. For example, <NR1> indicates
a specific form of numerical data.
Vertical bar | Vertical bars separate one of two or more alternative parameters. For example, 0|OFF
indicates that you may enter either "0" or"OFF" for the required parameter.
Square Brackets [ ] Items within square brackets are optional. The representation [SOURce]:CURRent
means that SOURce may be omitted.
Braces { } Braces indicate parameters that may be repeated zero or more times. It is used especially
for showing arrays. The notation<A>{<,B>} shows that "A" is a required parameter,
while "B" may be omitted or may be entered one or more times.
Boldface font Boldface font is used to emphasize syntax in command definitions. TRIGger:DELay
<NRf> shows a command syntax.
Computer font
Computer font is used to show program text within normal text. TRIGger:DELay .5
represents program text.
Types of SCPI Commands
SCPI has two types of commands, common and subsystem.
Common Commands. Common commands generally are not related to specific operation but to controlling overall power
supply functions, such as reset, status, and synchronization. All common commands consist of a three-letter nmemonic
preceded by an asterisk: *RST *IDN? *SRE 8