Serial port - definition
Serial port - definition
Serial port is a communication interface that allows data to be transmitted as a sequence of bits transmitted sequentially, one after the other, over one or two signal lines. Unlike parallel port, which transmits many bits simultaneously, serial transmission is more economical in terms of the number of wires and works well in applications requiring long connections with a limited number of physical lines.
The classic example of a serial port in personal computers is the RS-232 interface, which was commonly used to communicate with modems, terminals and industrial equipment. The RS-232 standard defines the electrical and logical transmission parameters and the physical connector, usually in the form of a 9- or 25-pin DB connector. Transmission takes place in asynchronous or synchronous mode, using specific parameters such as baud rate, number of data bits, parity bit and number of Feet bits.
The serial port is widely used in embedded systems, microcontrollers and IoT devices, where it is implemented in the form of UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter), SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) or I²C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) interfaces. In asynchronous communication, most commonly implemented via the UART, data is transmitted without a clock signal, and synchronisation is achieved using fixed transmission parameters and start/stop bits. In synchronous mode, transmission requires a shared clock signal between the transmitter and the receiver.
Serial ports are still widely used due to their simplicity of implementation, low hardware requirements and immunity to interference over long transmission lines. Although they have largely been replaced in consumer applications by interfaces such as USB, they are still an important part of diagnostic systems, industrial communications and Automation. In many systems, they also act as a service interface, allowing direct communication with the device at a low access level.
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