<
hardware, communications> (Or "com
port") A connector on a
computer to which you can attach a
serial line connected to
peripherals which communicate using a
serial (bit-stream)
protocol. The most common type of
serial port is a 25-pin
D-type connector carrying
EIA-232 signals. Smaller
connectors (e.g. 9-pin
D-type) carrying a subset of EIA-232
are often used on
personal computers. The
serial port is
usually connected to an
integrated circuit called a
UART
which handles the conversion between
serial and parallel data.
In the days before bit-mapped displays, and today on
multi-user systems, the
serial port was used to connect one
or more terminals (
teletypewriters or
VDUs), printers,
modems and other
serial peripherals. Two computers
connected together via their
serial ports, possibly via
modems, can communicate using a
protocol such as
UUCP or
CU or
SLIP.
(1995-01-12)