What are serial port assistants and virtual serial ports?
In related fields, serial port communication is common. Serial port assistants are software tools for serial port communication, which can send and receive data and have an intuitive interface for convenient parameter configuration. It communicates with devices through serial port communication protocols and supports multiple protocols.
A virtual serial port is a serial communication interface simulated by software, which can create a virtual serial port device on a computer. The operation is similar to that of an actual hardware serial port, which solves the communication needs of devices without hardware serial ports and realizes simulation through software processing and forwarding of serial port data.
The following are the functions and practical uses of serial port assistants and virtual serial ports.
The role of serial port assistants:
For example, when collecting sensor data in industrial automation, data monitoring and collection require real-time monitoring of serial port communication data, and serial port assistants can receive and save data in the data acquisition system. In device debugging and testing, new debugging tools for serial port devices or programs can be developed, and instructions can be sent to verify the functional performance of the device, such as debugging the serial port communication function of smart devices in smart home development.
The serial port assistant can configure and set parameters, set serial port parameters, ensure that the parameters of both parties in communication are consistent, and facilitate application scenarios where parameters are frequently changed. It can also realize data format conversion and display, support different data formats, facilitate conversion and display, and help analyze special format data. The serial port assistant can also automate operations and batch processing. The advanced serial port assistant supports automatic operation, improves work efficiency, and can also process data in batches.
The role of the virtual serial port:
The most basic function of the virtual serial port is to meet communication needs. Modern computers often have no hardware serial ports. The virtual serial port can meet the serial communication needs of the device, allowing old devices or specific programs to run on computers without actual serial port hardware. In terms of convenience, the virtual serial port assistant facilitates debugging and development. It is very useful in the development and debugging of serial port devices. It can simulate serial port communication, avoid frequent connection and disconnection of hardware devices, and improve development efficiency, such as simulating communication with external devices in embedded system development.
The advanced application of virtual serial port assistant can realize flexible data transmission control and can flexibly process and control serial port data, such as splitting the real serial port into multiple virtual serial ports or connecting multiple real serial ports to one virtual serial port to meet the data transmission needs of different scenarios. Perform remote communication simulation: With the help of software, remote communication can be realized on the network, which is convenient for remote debugging and data transmission. In terms of cost control, virtual serial ports can reduce costs. Compared with hardware expansion cards, virtual serial port software has low cost and does not require complex hardware installation and configuration, reducing system complexity and maintenance costs.
Many modern computers are not equipped with COM ports, which brings difficulties to people who rely on serial devices and applications, although industrial automation systems, medical equipment, etc. still use serial communication. Virtual serial port drivers can solve this problem and can create an unlimited number of virtual ports, allowing multiple applications to connect to serial devices at the same time.
Take VSPD as an example, people who do hardware development and software are more familiar with it. In the past, computers came with serial ports as standard, but now there are basically none, and USB to serial port hardware modules are required. A virtual serial port is software that simulates a physical serial interface, replicates the hardware COM interface function, and is recognized by the system and serial applications as a real port. It has many uses, such as facilitating application debugging of serial input data, serial communication between multiple applications, etc.
VSPD has functions such as fast debugging of code and adding unlimited virtual serial ports, which solves the limitation of the number of serial port devices when debugging programs. It is compatible with Windows 7, 8, and 10 systems, and can easily virtualize two serial ports for reading and writing. It is a good helper for debugging serial ports, runs stably, can simulate multiple serial ports, and supports all settings and signal lines, just like a real COM port.