Berlin, October 28th, 2011
Renewed Serial Communication
UART Communication in Real-time
Serial communication over COM ports is still relevant for several applications, despite more modern interfaces. The reason for this is that a large number of specific and crucial devices (“Legacy Devices”) still have to operate with a RS-232 or RS 485 port.
Until now Kithara RealTime Suite did provide a fast kernel implementation, that, however, could not be executed from the real-time multi-tasking environment. Here are the good news:
Starting now, UART communication can be controlled from real-time tasks. In addition, the new Serial Module supports the UART implementation as well as 64 bit systems. Therefore, the new UART communication is easier, faster and is completely real-time capable in 64 bit.
The concept is designed for comfortable application and a maximum of flexibility. Developers are able to:
- transmit single string or entire sequences of strings (buffered internally) at any time
- receive single string or entire sequences of strings (buffered internally) at any time
- log on a handler for received strings or other events
The actual data transfer is provided by the multi-tasking system, which runs in the background. For industrial applications, direct access to handshake lines, a RS485 directional switch and a 9 bit mode are provided.
The UART implementation is designed for highest efficiency and high performance. By using real-time tasks it is possible to implement complex protocols by using simple tools and with only minimal programming effort.