a semicolon. You must always end a program message with one of the three program message terminators shown in Figure l-29. Use <new line>, C-END>, or <new line> <-END> as the program message terminator. The word <-END>> means that EOI is asserted on the HP-IB interface at the same time the preceding data byte is sent. Most programming languages send these terminators automatically. For example, if you use the HP BASIC OUTPUT statement, <new line> is automatically sent after your last data byte. If you are using a PC, you can usually configure the system to send whatever terminator you specify.

Subsystem Command Syntax

Figure l-30 describes the basic syntax of SCPI subsystem commands.

NOTE:

SP =I white space, ASCII characters 0 ,,, to 9 ,. and 11, o to 32 ,.

Figure l-30. Simplified Subsystem Command Syntax

As Figure l-30 shows, there must be a <space> between the last command mnemonic and the first parameter in a subsystem command. This is one of the few places in SCPI where <space> is required. Note that if you send more than one parameter with a single command, you must separate adjacent parameters with a comma. Parameter types are explained later in this subsection.

Common Command Syntax

Figure 1-31 describes the syntax of common commands.

l-80 Getting Started Programming