User`s guide

5-6

Programming and Documentation Conventions

The Command Tree

The command tree shows all of the commands and the relationships of the

commands to each other. The IEEE 488.2 common commands are not listed as

part of the command tree because they do not affect the position of the parser

within the tree. When a program message terminator (<NL>, linefeed-ASCII

decimal 10) or a leading colon (:) is sent to the instrument, the parser is set to

the root of the command tree.

Command Types

The commands for this instrument are in three categories:

• Common commands

• Root level commands

• Subsystem commands

Common Commands The common commands are the commands defined by

IEEE 488.2. These commands control some functions that are common to all

IEEE 488.2 instruments.

Common commands are independent of the tree, and do not affect the position

of the parser within the tree. These commands differ from root level commands

in that root level commands place the parser back at the root of the command

tree.

Example:

*RST

Root Level Commands The root level commands control many of the basic

functions of the instrument. These commands reside at the root of the command

tree. Root level commands are always parsable if they occur at the beginning of

a program message, or are preceded by a colon.

Example:

:AUTOSCALE