This standard provides a definition of the device-generic command set portion of a series of standards called the Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI), a high performance, general-purpose parallel peripheral interface. Both material that is useful across all classes of device that the device-generic command sets can support, and material oriented to particular device classes is included. In this document the latter clauses are intended for use with Magnetic Tape Drives. This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 1990, and constitutes a technical revision. The following items have been added or changed since the first edition: - revised scope; - attribute usage was added (subclause 4.10, subsequent clauses were renumbered); - addition of new parameters for position control command (subclause 7.2). ISO/IEC 9318-4 complements other Intelligent Peripheral Interface standards.