Hantek HSA2030 User Manual

Hantek HSA2030 User Manual Manual pdf 48 page image

5.1 SCPI Brief IntroductionSCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instrument) is an ASCII- based instrumentcommand language designed for test and measurement instruments, with the goal of reducingautomatic test equipment (ATE) program development time. SCPI accomplishes this goal byproviding a consistent programming environment for instrument control and data usage. Thisconsistent programming environment is achieved by the use of defined program messages,instrument responses, and data formats across all SCPI instruments. By providing a consistentprogramming environment, replacing one SCPI instrument with another SCPI instrument in asystem should require less effort than with non- SCPI instrument.SCPI is not a standard which completely provides for interchangeable instrumentation. SCPIhelps move toward interchangeability by defining instrument commands and responses, but notfunctionality, accuracy, resolution, and so forth.5.1.1 Basic Knowledge RequirementProgramming with SCPI requires knowledge of:• Computer programming languages, such as C or C++.• The language of your instrument. A HAS Series spectrum analyzer employs SCPI as itsprogramming language.SCPI.5.1.2 Command SyntaxCommand syntax includes standard notations and statement rules.Command Statement Rules Overview• Command statements read from left to right• Use either long form or short form of keywords, but do not use both• No separating space between the keywords, only use a colon to separate keywords ofdifferent levels• Always separating a keyword from a variable with a space• Always separating a variable from its unit with a space (if variable has a unit)5.1.3 Standard NotationsA command consists of mnemonics (keywords), parameters and punctuation. Before you start toprogram your analyzer, familiarize yourself with the standard notation of each of them.KeywordsMany commands have both a long and a short form: use either one. (a combination of the two isnot allowed). Consider the: FREQuency command for example:• Short form : FREQ• Long form : FREQuencySCPI is not case sensitive, so fREquEncy is just as valid as FREQUENCY, but FREQ andFREQUENCY are the only valid forms of the FREQuency command. In this documentation, uppercase letters indicate the short form of the keyword. The upper case and lower case letters indicatethe long form of the keyword.