Introduction :: Serial Port I/O (External Interfaces)

External Interfaces

Introduction

What Is the MATLAB Serial Port Interface?

The MATLAB serial port interface provides direct access to peripheral devices such as modems, printers, and scientific instruments that you connect to your computer's serial port. This interface is established through a serial port object. The serial port object supports functions and properties that allow you to

Configure serial port communications
Use serial port control pins
Write and read data
Use events and callbacks
Record information to disk

If you want to communicate with PC-compatible data acquisition hardware such as multifunction I/O boards, you need the Data Acquisition Toolbox. If you want to communicate with GPIB- or VISA-compatible instruments, you need the Instrument Control Toolbox. Note that this toolbox also includes additional serial I/O utility functions that facilitate object creation and configuration, instrument communication, and so on.

For more information about these products, visit the MathWorks Web site at http://www.mathworks.com/products.

Supported Serial Port Interface Standards

Over the years, several serial port interface standards have been developed. These standards include RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485 - all of which are supported by the MATLAB serial port object. Of these, the most widely used interface standard for connecting computers to peripheral devices is RS-232.

In this guide, it is assumed you are using the RS-232 standard, which is discussed in Overview of the Serial Port. Refer to your computer and device documentation to see which interface standard you can use.

Supported Platforms

The MATLAB serial port interface is supported on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Sun Solaris platforms.

Using the Examples with Your Device

Many of the examples in this section reflect specific peripheral devices connected to a PC serial port - in particular a Tektronix TDS 210 two-channel oscilloscope connected to the COM1 port. Therefore, many of the string commands are specific to this instrument.

If your peripheral device is connected to a different serial port, or if it accepts different commands, you should modify the examples accordingly.

Serial Port I/O Overview of the Serial Port