Remote Control 
  Copyright © Itech Electronic Co., Ltd.  2 
 
 
Multiple commands in a message 
Multiple  SCPI  commands  can  be  combined  and  sent  as  a  single 
message  with  one  message  terminator.  There  are  two  important 
considerations  when  sending  several  commands  within  a  single 
message: 
⚫  Use a semicolon to separate commands within a message. 
⚫  Head paths influence how the instrument interprets commands. 
We consider the head path as a string which will be inserted in front of 
every command of a message. As for the first command of a message, 
the head path is a null string; for each subsequent command, the head 
path is a string which is defined to form the current command until and 
including  the  head  of  the  last  colon  separator.  A  message  with  two 
combined commands: CURR:LEV 3;PROT:STAT OFF 
The example indicates the effect of semicolon and explains the concept 
of head path. Since the head path is defined to be "CURR" after "curr: lev 
3",  the  head  of  the  second  command,  "curr",  is  deleted  and  the 
instrument explains the second command as: CURR:PROT:STAT OFF 
If "curr" is explicitly included in the second command, it is semantically 
wrong.  Since  combining  it  with  the  head  path  will  become 
"CURR:CURR:PROT:STAT OFF", resulting in wrong command. 
Movement in the subsystem 
In order to combine commands from different subsystems, you need to 
be able to reset the header path to a null string within a message. You do 
this  by  beginning  the  command  with  a  colon  (:),  which  discards  any 
previous header path. For example, you could clear the output protection 
and check the status of the Operation Condition register in one message 
by using a root specifier as follows: 
PROTection:CLEAr;:STATus:OPERation:CONDition? 
The following message shows how to combine commands from different 
subsystems as well as within the same subsystem: