VNA Master™Programming Manual : Programming with SCPI : Introduction to SCPI Programming
 
Introduction to SCPI Programming
The Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) defines a set of standard programming commands for use by all SCPI‑compatible instruments. SCPI is intended to give the user a consistent environment for program development. It does so by defining controller messages, instrument responses, and message formats for all SCPI‑compatible instruments. SCPI commands are messages to the instrument to perform specific tasks. The MS20xxB command set includes:
• SCPI Common Commands
• SCPI Required Commands
• SCPI Optional Commands
Caution 
Programs that receive SCPI commands may require support for Extended ASCII character codes in order to display some of the returned characters, such as Greek letter mu (µ). Some commands, for example, return the units of time in microseconds (µs). In this Anritsu programming manual, the Greek letter mu is represented by the English letter “u” to avoid typographic problems during publication.
Note 
The MS20xxB follows the SCPI standard but is not fully compliant with that standard.
The main reason that MS20xxB is not fully compliant is because it does not support all of the required SCPI commands, and because it uses some exceptions in the use of short form and long form command syntax.
SCRE for SCREen and TYP for TYPE are two examples of the command short forms that are used in MS20xxB in order to be compatible with older products.