American Magnetics 187 Self-Compensating Liquid Level Controller - Manual (Page 41)

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Remote Interface Reference
SCPI Introduction
(see page 46 for more information)
UNITs {0|1|2}
PERCent
INches
CM
UNITs?
4.2 Programming Overview
The Model 187 conforms to the SCPI (Standard Commands for
Programmable Instruments) IEEE standard. The SCPI standard is an
ASCII-based specification designed to provide a consistent command
structure for instruments from various manufacturers.
The Model 187 also implements a status system for monitoring the state of
the Model 187 through the Standard Event, Alarm, and Status Byte
registers.
4.2.1 SCPI Language Introduction
SCPI commands conform to a tree structure where commands are grouped
according to common keywords. For example, commands which set a
Model 187 setup or operating parameter begin with the keyword
CONFigure . The keywords are shown in upper case and lower case to
indicate acceptable abbreviations. For the example keyword CONFigure ,
the user may send either the abbreviated form of CONF , or the entire
keyword CONFIGURE . Any other form of the keyword is illegal and will
generate an error.
Many commands also require multiple keywords to traverse the tree
structure of the entire Model 187 command set. For example, commands
associated with an alarm setting require the prefix of
CONFigure:ALARm .
Note that a colon ( : ) separates the keywords. No spaces are allowed
before or after the colon. Parameters must be separated from the command
keyword(s) by at least one space.
4.2.2 SCPI Status System
The Model 187 status system reports various conditions of the instrument
in three register groups shown in Figure 4-1. The register groups consist of
a condition and/or event register, and an enable register which controls the
actions of specific bits within the condition or event registers.
Units Commands and Queries