I wonder if read_file is intended for the internally stored *.bin (within *.sal) vs. exported from GUI *.bin files? I haven’t tried that API myself, as it isn’t as well documented, but I recall there was a difference between the exported vs. internally captured binary format. Also, I didn’t see a way to export binary from MSO, only non-MSO python automation API.
It would be nice to standardize the APIs between the two, but the hardware and capabilities aren’t the same. I understand it would be quite a challenge to define a superset API that handles both gracefully, emulates common features not directly supported when possible, and provides helpful hints / exceptions when an API could only be supported on one hardware type. This problem is compounded by two different GUIs with unique features for each hardware type, too. For now, only the MSO side gets the extra analog features in the automation API, but perhaps the non-MSO will benefit sometime in the future.
Edit: an older post about the internal binary format for orginal Logic 2 *.sal files (likely out of date for new MSO captures and possibly newer Logic 2 software releases):
… if this is what read_file actually handles, then I hope the online documents are updated to clarify, as they currently point to the exported binary format for reference.