This section describes programming of the Analyzer using SCPI commands or COM/DCOM technology. The SCPI commands are described in this manual as basic. The description of the equivalent COM command is provided at the end of the description of each SCPI command.
SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) defines a standard for syntax and commands to use in controlling programmable instruments. SCPI commands are ASCII textual strings that are sent to the analyzer program over the LAN physical layer using the HiSLIP or TCP/IP Socket network protocol. These protocols can also be used within a single PC when using the IP address 127.0.0.1 or localhost.
HiSLIP (High-Speed LAN Instrument Protocol) is a network protocol intended for remote control of measuring and testing equipment and is based on the TCP/IP network protocol. HiSLIP is developed by the consortium IVI Foundation as the successor to GPIB and VXI-11 protocols. The user program relies on the implementation of the HiSLIP protocol in the VISA library.
TCP/IP Socket is a general-purpose network protocol. The user program can connect to the Analyzer using the TCP/IP Socket protocol both directly and through the VISA library.
VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture) library is a widely used software input-output interface for measuring and testing equipment. It is a library of functions for C/C++, C#, Visual Basic, MATLAB, LabVIEW and others. The VISA library unifies access to all measuring instruments, regardless of the protocol and physical layer used. The VISA library is available on the websites of many companies for free download. There are versions of VISA library for Windows, Linux, Mac OS.
COM/DCOM (Component Object Model/Distributed Component Object Model) is a program technology developed by Microsoft. The COM/DCOM technology establishes a program interface between the analyzer program and the user program. The analyzer program acts as a COM server. The user program acts as a COM client. COM is used within a single PC. DCOM is used over a LAN.
References
Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI)
IVI High-Speed LAN Instrument Protocol (HiSLIP)
