Agilent Technologies A.18.00 User Manual

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Chapter 5, Advanced Operations
GPIB Service Requests
GPIB Service Requests 
The Test Set is capable of generating a “service request” when it requires the 
Active Controller to take action. Service requests are generally made after the Test 
Set has completed a task (such as making a measurement) or when an error 
condition exists (such as an internal self-calibration has failed). 
The mechanism by which the Active Controller detects these requests is the SRQ 
interrupt. Interrupts allow for efficient use of system resources, because the 
Active Controller may be executing a program until an SRQ interrupt occurs. If 
SRQ interrupts are enabled in the Active Controller, the occurrence of an interrupt 
can initiate a program branch to a routine which “services” the interrupt (executes 
some remedial action). The operating and/or programming manuals for each 
controller describe the controller’s capability to set up and respond to SRQ 
interrupts. 
This section describes the steps necessary to properly configure the Test Set to 
request service using the Service Request (SRQ) function.