Our goal is to learn how to use the serial port on the PC
from the Windows end. This lab will involve researching the use of the Windows
COM port. There are two options you can pursue here. The first is using
communications functions inherent in Windows. To this end, read the following
articles in the MSDN Library: Device
I/O. A second approach is to use an ActiveX control called
"MSComm" which handles communications through the COM port of the PC.
To find out about using MSComm, read the following article.
Write the first draft of a
program that uses an available COM port to receive a 1024-byte array of data
from an external device. The program can be checked by printing or plotting the
received data to the screen. You can use a program called "VCTerm" on a
second PC and null modem cable to test your program.
Submit a report with a
program listing, include only pertinent code that you wrote. Also indicate how
you tested your program and copy some program output to prove that your program
performed as expected. Also include a description of how the COM port performs
serial communications.