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Hi Guys,
I need to be able to create a program that allows a WinXP machine to communicate with an LCD Screen through Com 1 RS 232. I need to program it in ANSI C (GCC compiler) . If I could send characters to the screen I would be very happy.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Serial Communications in Win32 ?
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Mats
I don't qiute understand what you mean?
I have tried to convert C++ code to C but have been unsuccessful.
I am mostly having trouble with includes such as bios.h and using termios.
If anyone could help me from scratch I would delighted.
The code I have been trying to alter can be found at Crystalfontz: Serial LCD and USB LCD Modules, Graphic LCD displays (Liquid Crystal Displays) and OLED display modules . I have tried modifying both the code from the 635 version and the cf_linux_example version but have had no luck. I have also found various other solutions on the internet which support linux platforms, but can't modify those to work either.
To get a solution to work in a Win32 terminal would suffice.
Thanks
Unix and Linux are VERY different in how they handle serial port. Is the protocol for your LCD panel fairly straight-forward (as in, if you send stuff out the serial port, does it appear immediately, or do you have to do lots of things) - if it's simple, I'd try it out just using HyperTerminal or some such, to see if you have it wired up right, before you start writing code.
Is there any REAL reason why you need to use C and not C++?
By the way, I think the link I sent _IS_ a good way to learn how to do this. If that's beyond your abilities, then perhaps you should study C and Windows API a bit more - yes, I know, we all try to do things that are beyond our capabilities, but there is only so far you can reach without failing - there's a balance between stretching, and trying to do something you are completely unqualified for.
[Having a quick look at the specifications for the serial LCD panel in your link, it seems like it should work to just send text to it].
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Mats
I must write the code in C becuase my boss has requested that I do so. I think it is because the device I need to communicate with is only has 8-bytes of memory whereas the original C++ code was written for 16-bytes. I'm not qute sure but all I know is that I HAVE to write it in C.
Thanks for the link but all the examples are in C++? Would you be able to help me out in converting the C++ code for CreateFile() to an equivelant C function? Or is there much in setting up the port for communication?
If you find that most of the available relevant material is in C++, then it might be simpler to feedback to your boss for permission to get it done in C++ instead. As for 8 bytes versus 16 bytes: I do not see why that should be a problem. If it were a problem, it could exist in a C version as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by samuelmoneill
Can you be more specific. The code in the MSDN link I gave are definitely not C++ - it is pure ANSI C - it may not be simple, but it's ANSI (or at least very close to ANSI standard).
That's the files in the MTTTY example in the link - not a .cpp in sight.Code:14/02/1996 11:57 4,569 ABOUT.C
24/05/1996 06:45 1,974 ABSTRACT.TXT
20/03/1996 15:47 4,885 ERROR.C
28/02/1996 11:55 17,078 INIT.C
29/05/1996 10:26 1,484 MAKEFILE
20/03/1996 15:24 28,974 MTTTY.C
24/05/1996 08:24 6,101 MTTTY.H
13/11/1995 16:40 1,398 MTTTY.ICO
29/05/1996 09:20 9,559 MTTTY.MAK
20/03/1996 15:21 16,719 MTTTY.RC
14/11/1995 08:37 1,398 MTTTY2.ICO
14/11/1995 08:37 1,398 MTTTY3.ICO
14/11/1995 08:37 1,398 MTTTY4.ICO
14/02/1996 12:10 6,118 READER.C
28/02/1996 11:55 9,064 READSTAT.C
19/03/1996 17:34 4,961 RESOURCE.H
29/05/1996 09:38 44,077 SETTINGS.C
29/05/1996 09:36 22,566 STATUS.C
24/05/1996 08:31 27,648 TRANSFER.C
28/02/1996 11:55 4,636 TTYINFO.H
24/05/1996 08:25 27,704 WRITER.C
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Mats
The link matsp posted is the defacto solution for windows applications. Its really even simpler, all you do is open "COM1:" as the file name and then use ReadFile() adn WriteFile(). There are other function for settign up the baud rate, parity, and stop bits if you dont want the default.