serial port
A serial port is a communication interface on electronic devices that allows data to be transferred between these devices and other peripheral devices or a computer in a serial manner. A serial port is also known as a serial interface or COM port (on Windows systems). It is an interface that is standardized for serial communication and uses a sequence of bits to transfer data.
Serial port characteristics:
Asynchronous communication: A serial port often supports asynchronous communication, which means that data is transferred without special time synchronization between devices. Each byte of data contains a start bit, a stop bit, and one or more data bits, allowing for easy communication.
Flow control: A serial port can support data flow control between devices using RTS (Request to Send) and CTS (Clear to Send) signals, DTR (Data Terminal Ready) and DSR (Data Set Ready) signals, or other signals. These signals are used to control when a device can start or stop data transmission.
Data transfer rate: The serial port supports different data transfer rates, which are defined in points per second (baud). The transmission speed can be configured according to the communication needs.
Importance of Serial Ports: Serial ports were widely used in the past to connect various peripheral devices to computers such as printers, modems, mice, keyboards and others. These ports allowed for easy communication between computers and peripherals.
Gradual replacement: With the development of modern technologies, serial ports are increasingly being replaced by other interfaces such as USB, Ethernet and wireless communication. Despite this, serial ports are still used in industry and some specialized applications.
The serial port is still an important communication interface in some areas, especially in industrial applications where reliable serial communication with various devices is required.