User`s guide

In This Book

This Programmer’s Guide is your introduction to programming the

oscilloscope using an instrument controller. This book, with the Programmer’s

Reference, provides a comprehensive description of the oscilloscope’s

programmatic interface. The Programmer’s Reference is supplied as a

Microsoft Windows Help file on a 3.5" diskette.

The oscilloscope has a built-in RS-232-C port for programming. To program the

oscilloscope over GPIB, you need the N2757A GPIB Interface Module. You also

need an instrument controller that supports either the IEEE-488 or RS-232-C

interface standards, and a programming language capable of communicating

with these interfaces.

This book contains the following information:

Chapter 1 Introduction to Programming, gives a general overview of

oscilloscope programming.

Chapter 2 Programming Getting Started, shows a simple program, explains

its operation, and discusses considerations for data types.

Chapter 3 GPIB, discusses the general considerations for programming the

instrument over an GPIB interface.

Chapter 4 Programming over RS-232-C, discusses the general considerations

for programming the instrument over an RS-232-C interface.

Chapter 5 Programming and Documentation Conventions, describes the

conventions used in representing the syntax of commands throughout this book

and the Programmer’s Reference, and gives an overview of the oscilloscope

command set.

Chapter 6 Status Reporting, discusses the oscilloscope status registers and

how to use them in your programs.

Chapter 7 Installing and Using the Programmer’s Reference, tells how to

install the Programmer’s Reference online help file in Microsoft Windows, and

explains help file navigation.

Chapter 8 Programmer’s Quick Reference, lists all the commands and queries

available for programming the oscilloscope.

For information on oscilloscope operation, see the User’s Guide. For

information on interface configuration, see the documentation for the

oscilloscope interface module and the interface card used in your controller (for

example, the Agilent 82350A interface for IBM PC-compatible computers).