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Section 4
Computer Interfacing
4.1 General Guidelines
The 2832-C has two computer interface ports: GPIB and RS-232C. The GPIB
port conforms with the IEEE Standard 488.1 hardware standard and the IEEE
488.2 software standard. The protocol for the RS-232C port conforms as
much as possible to the IEEE 488.2 software standard.
As specified by the IEEE 488.2 standard, there are two command types; device
independent commands and device dependent commands. The device
independent commands have the same meaning to all devices and are defined
as part of the IEEE 488.2 standard. All device independent commands start
with an asterisk (*). Device dependent commands do not start with an
asterisk and have meanings unique to the Model 2832-C. A query is a command
that invokes a response from the meter. All queries are terminated by a
question mark (?). It is recommended that when a query is made, that the
response to that query be read before other commands are issued. When a
query is made to the GPIB interface, the MAV bit in the status byte should be
checked by means of a serial poll to make sure that the data is available
before reading the response. (See Appendix C.4 Status Byte)
4.2 Computer Interface Terminology
Listed below are key abbreviations and concepts used in the command
reference section of this manual.
Delimiting Punctuation
For the purposes of this manual, any string enclosed by is considered to
be a command, a string or a numerical argument. The punctuation is
used to symbolize the typographic limits of the command, string or argument
in question.
End or Identify
An IEEE 488.1 signal sometimes sent with the end-of-string character.
Individual Status
This status is generated by the status byte and parallel poll enable register. It
is used in responding to parallel polls.
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