How to handle asymetric responce from an instrument

code

    global SampleRateUnit
    SampleRateUnit = {'Seconds': '0', 'Minutes': '1', 'Hours': '2',
                      'Days': '3', '%': '4'}
    global SamplePeriodUnit
    SamplePeriodUnit = {'Seconds': '0', 'Minutes': '1', 'Hours': '2',
                        'Days': '3', 'Weeks': '4', 'Pulses': '5'}
    global TotalDurationUnit
    TotalDurationUnit = {'Period': '0', 'Seconds': '1', 'Minutes': '2',
                         'Hours': '3', 'Days': '4', 'Weeks': '5', 'Continuous': '6',
                                'predefinded': '7'}
    global TimeStamp
    TimeStamp = {'OFF': False, 'ON': True, False: 0, True: 1}

    @Feat(values=(None, SampleRateUnit, None, SamplePeriodUnit, None,
                  TotalDurationUnit, TimeStamp,))
    def sampling(self):
        """This command is used to read the current data sampling settings.
        (rds)
        """
        out = self.parse_query('*rds', format='Sample Rate: {} / {}\tSample Period: {} / {}\tTotal Duration: {} {}\tTime Stamp: {}')
        print(out)
        global SampleRateUnit
        global SamplePeriodUnit
        global TotalDurationUnit
        global TimeStamp
        out[1] = SampleRateUnit[out[1]]
        out[3] = SamplePeriodUnit[out[3]]
        out[5] = TotalDurationUnit[out[5]]
        out[6] = TimeStamp[out[6]]
        return out
        #return self.query('*rds')

    @sampling.setter
    def sampling(self, value):
        """This command provides the data sampling parameters for the logging
        and statistics environments. (dsu)
        """
        self.query('*dsu {} {} {} {} {} {} {}'.format(*value))

comment

1

getter

print(inst.sampling)

gives


21:55:07 INFO     Getting sampling
21:55:07 DEBUG    Sending b'*rds\r\n'
21:55:07 DEBUG    Received 'Sample Rate: 1 / Seconds\tSample Period: 30 / Seconds\tTotal Duration: 1 Period\tTime Stamp: ON\r\n' (len=94)
['1', 'Seconds', '30', 'Seconds', '1', 'Period', 'ON']
21:55:07 DEBUG    (raw) Got ['1', '0', '30', '0', '1', '0', True] for sampling
21:55:07 INFO     Got ('1', 'Seconds', '30', 'Seconds', '1', 'Period', 'ON') for sampling
('1', 'Seconds', '30', 'Seconds', '1', 'Period', 'ON')

setter

inst.sampling = ('1', 'Seconds', '30', 'Seconds', '1', 'Period', True)
 
gives

21:55:07 INFO     Setting sampling = ('1', 'Seconds', '30', 'Seconds', '1', 'Period', True) (current=MISSING, force=False)
21:55:07 DEBUG    (raw) Setting sampling = ('1', '0', '30', '0', '1', '0', 1)
21:55:07 DEBUG    Sending b'*dsu 1 0 30 0 1 0 1\r\n'
21:55:07 DEBUG    Received 'ACK\r\n' (len=5)
21:55:07 INFO     sampling was set to ('1', 'Seconds', '30', 'Seconds', '1', 'Period', True)

As one can see, for setting the device this one needs to reveive numbers (on a string form).
But when we retrive this parameter from the device, it is in a string (human readable) form.
This is why the Feat is so weird. It there is something wrong about that? Or a better way to do it?

It'd be nice to use units with this function. This is because
'1', 'Seconds', '30', 'Seconds', '1', 'Period', True
in fact means
1 second, 30 seconds, 1 period, True
This is it: there are actually 4 parameters for this device setting.
So I'd like to use units....

But! If we look in the device manual
http://riel.pmc.umontreal.ca/sandbox/groups/leonelli/wiki/5c75f/attachments/a37cb842-PE.Manual.RevB.pdf
section 4.2.3.6 (on pdf page 59)
we see that the 1st parameter unit can be
seconds, minutes, hours, days or percentage of pulses
So it doen't seems to make sence of using a quantity that unit will change over context.
What do you think?