HP 83620A Getting Started Programming, n Semicolon, w Whitespace, w Commas, w Common Commands

nSemicolon

A semicolon separates two commands in the same message without changing the current path.

wWhitespace

White space characters, such as <tab> and <space>, are generally ignored. There are two important exceptions. White space inside a keyword, such as :FREq uency, is not allowed. You must use white space to separate parameters from commands. For example, the <space> between LEVel and 6.2 in the command :POWer : LEVel 6.2 is mandatory. White space does not affect the current path.

w Commas

If a command requires more than one parameter, you must separate adjacent parameters using a comma. Commas do not affect the current path.

w Common Commands

Common commands, such as *RST, are not part of any subsystem. An instrument interprets them in the same way, regardless of the current path setting.

Figure l-26 shows examples of how to use the colon and semicolon to navigate efficiently through the command tree.

Getting Started Programming 1-69