Discrete Parameters. Use discrete parameters to program settings that have a finite number of values. Discrete parameters use mnemonics to represent each valid setting. They have a long and a short form, just like command mnemonics. You can used mixed upper and lower case letters for discrete parameters.

Examples of discrete parameters used with the ROSCillator subsystem:

INTernal internal frequency standard

EXTernal external frequency standard

NONE no frequency standard, free run mode

Although discrete parameters values look like command keywords, do not confuse the two. In particular, be sure to use colons and spaces properly. Use a colon to separate command mnemonics from each other. Use a space to separate parameters from command mnemonics.

Boolean Parameters. Boolean parameters represent a single binary condition that is either true or false. There are only four possible values for a Boolean parameter.

Examples of Boolean parameters:

ON Boolean TRUE, upper/lower case allowed

OFF Boolean FALSE, upper/lower case allowed

1Boolean TRUE

0Boolean FALSE

Response Data Types

Real Response Data. A large portion of all measurement data are formatted as real response data. Real response data are decimal numbers in either fixed decimal notation or scientific notation. In general, you do not need to worry about the rules for formatting real data, or whether fixed decimal or scientific notation is used. Most high level programming languages that support instrument I/O handle either type transparently.

Examples of real response data:

1.23E+O -1.OE+2 +l.OE+2

0.5E+O 1.23

-100 . 0

+100.0

0 . 5

l-84 Getting Started Programming