6 Agilent N5181A/82A MXG Signal Generators SCPI Command Reference
SCPI Basics
SCPI Basics
Figure 1-1 Command Types
Command Tree
Most programming tasks involve subsystem commands. SCPI uses a structure for subsystem
commands similar to the file systems on most computers. In SCPI, this command structure is called
a command tree and is shown in Figure 1- 2.
Figure 1-2 Simplified Command Tree
The command closest to the top is the root command, or simply “the root.” Notice that you must
follow a particular path to reach lower level commands. In the following example, :POWer represents
AA, :ALC represents BB, :SOURce represents GG. The complete command path is
:POWer:ALC:SOURce? (:AA:BB:GG).
Paths Through the Command Tree
To access commands from different paths in the command tree, you must understand how the signal
generator interprets commands. The parser, a part of the signal generator firmware, decodes each
message sent to the signal generator. The parser breaks up the message into component commands
using a set of rules to determine the command tree path used. The parser keeps track of the current
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