Overview of the Serial Communication Protocol
In Series

© Lead Image © 3355m, 123RF.com
We explore serial communications, from the electrical specs to protocols and libraries, with an example of serial communication with an Arduino.
The word "serial" in terms of computers might bring several things to mind. In modern times, it might be the universal serial bus (USB). Not too long ago, it might have brought to mind a 9-pin connector on the back of your desktop – or the even bigger 25-pin connector a bit before that. Different, still, the term might bring up memories of modems, printers, or peripherals connected to specialty computers. If you look at early mainframes, the serial port was the main interface to a text terminal and thus the human interface to the computer.
Some of these usages have been superseded by newer or different technologies, but serial is still alive and well. Although not as common on today's computer equipment, serial communication is far from gone, and its availability can provide some interesting possibilities for talking to unique hardware.
Basic Principles
In the simplest sense, an electric circuit used for communication just uses a completed circuit to represent a 1 and a broken circuit to represent a 0. See the "Telegraphy" sidebar for how this worked in real life for years. The limitation of a simple telegraphy circuit is that for each signal you want to send, you need a dedicated wire.
[...]
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
News
-
OpenMandriva Lx 4.2 has Arrived
The latest stable version of OpenMandriva has been released and offers the newest KDE desktop and ARM support.
-
Thunderbird 78 is being ported to Ubuntu 20.04
The Ubuntu developers have made the decision to port the latest release of Thunderbird to the LTS version of the platform.
-
Elementary OS is Bringing Multi-Touch Gestures to the OS
User-friendly Linux distribution, elementary OS, is working to make using the fan-favorite platform even better for laptops.
-
Decade-Old Sudo Flaw Discovered
A vulnerability has been discovered in the Linux sudo command that’s been hiding in plain sight.
-
Another New Linux Laptop has Arrived
Slimbook has released a monster of a Linux gaming laptop.
-
Mozilla VPN Now Available for Linux
The promised subscription-based VPN service from Mozilla is now available for the Linux platform.
-
Wayland and New App Menu Coming to KDE
The 2021 roadmap for the KDE desktop environment includes some exciting features and improvements.
-
Deepin 20.1 has Arrived
Debian-based Deepin 20.1 has been released with some interesting new features.
-
CloudLinux Commits Over 1 Million Dollars to CentOS Replacement
An open source, drop-in replacement for CentOS is on its way.
-
Linux Mint 20.1 Beta has Been Released
The first beta of Linux Mint, Ulyssa, is now available for downloading.