docs » hs.serial

Communicate with external devices through a serial port (most commonly RS-232).

Powered by ORSSerialPort. Thrown together by @latenitefilms.

Copyright (c) 2011-2012 Andrew R. Madsen (andrew@openreelsoftware.com)

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API Overview

API Documentation

Functions

availablePortDetails
Signature hs.serial.availablePortDetails() -> table
Type Function
Description

Returns a table of currently connected serial ports details, organised by port name.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • A table containing the IOKit details of any connected serial ports, organised by port name.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 655
availablePortNames
Signature hs.serial.availablePortNames() -> table
Type Function
Description

Returns a table of currently connected serial ports names.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • A table containing the names of any connected serial port names as strings.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 631
availablePortPaths
Signature hs.serial.availablePortPaths() -> table
Type Function
Description

Returns a table of currently connected serial ports paths.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • A table containing the names of any connected serial port paths as strings.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 683
deviceCallback
Signature hs.serial.deviceCallback(callbackFn) -> none
Type Function
Description

A callback that's triggered when a serial port is added or removed from the system.

Parameters
  • callbackFn - the callback function to trigger, or nil to remove the current callback
Returns
  • None
Notes
  • The callback function should expect 1 argument and should not return anything:
    • devices - A table containing the names of any serial ports connected as strings.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 1161

Constructors

newFromName
Signature hs.serial.newFromName(portName) -> serialPortObject
Type Constructor
Description

Creates a new hs.serial object using the port name.

Parameters
  • portName - A string containing the port name.
Returns
  • An hs.serial object or nil if an error occurred.
Notes
  • A valid port name can be found by checking hs.serial.availablePortNames().
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 525
newFromPath
Signature hs.serial.newFromPath(path) -> serialPortObject
Type Constructor
Description

Creates a new hs.serial object using a path.

Parameters
  • path - A string containing the path (i.e. "/dev/cu.usbserial").
Returns
  • An hs.serial object or nil if an error occurred.
Notes
  • A valid port name can be found by checking hs.serial.availablePortPaths().
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 558

Methods

baudRate
Signature hs.serial:baudRate([value], [allowNonStandardBaudRates]) -> number | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets the baud rate for the serial port.

Parameters
  • value - An optional number to set the baud rate.
  • [allowNonStandardBaudRates] - An optional boolean to enable non-standard baud rates. Defaults to false.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns the baud rate as a number
Notes
  • This function supports the following standard baud rates as numbers: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, 19200, 28800, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400.
  • If no baud rate is supplied, it defaults to 115200.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 783
callback
Signature hs.serial:callback(callbackFn) -> serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Sets or removes a callback function for the hs.serial object.

Parameters
  • callbackFn - a function to set as the callback for this hs.serial object. If the value provided is nil, any currently existing callback function is removed.
Returns
  • The hs.serial object
Notes
  • The callback function should expect 4 arguments and should not return anything:
    • serialPortObject - The serial port object that triggered the callback.
    • callbackType - A string containing "opened", "closed", "received", "removed" or "error".
    • message - If the callbackType is "received", then this will be the data received as a string. If the callbackType is "error", this will be the error message as a string.
    • hexadecimalString - If the callbackType is "received", then this will be the data received as a hexadecimal string.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 591
close
Signature hs.serial:close() -> serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Closes the serial port.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • The hs.serial object.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 765
dataBits
Signature hs.serial:dataBits([value]) -> number | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets the number of data bits for the serial port.

Parameters
  • value - An optional number to set the number of data bits. It can be 5 to 8.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns the data bits as a number.
  • The default value is 8.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 1091
dtr
Signature hs.serial:dtr([value]) -> boolean | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets the state of the serial port's DTR (Data Terminal Ready) pin.

Parameters
  • value - An optional boolean.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns a boolean.
Notes
  • The default value is false.
  • Setting this to true is most likely required for Arduino devices prior to opening the serial port.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 972
isOpen
Signature hs.serial:isOpen() -> boolean
Type Method
Description

Gets whether or not a serial port is open.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • true if open, otherwise false.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 1122
name
Signature hs.serial:name() -> string
Type Method
Description

Returns the name of a hs.serial object.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • The name as a string.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 707
open
Signature hs.serial:open() -> serialPortObject | nil
Type Method
Description

Opens the serial port.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • The hs.serial object or nil if the port could not be opened.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 743
parity
Signature hs.serial:parity([value]) -> string | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets the parity for the serial port.

Parameters
  • value - An optional string to set the parity. It can be "none", "odd" or "even".
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns a string value of "none", "odd" or "even".
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 834
path
Signature hs.serial:path() -> string
Type Method
Description

Returns the path of a hs.serial object.

Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • The path as a string.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 725
rts
Signature hs.serial:rts([value]) -> boolean | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets the state of the serial port's RTS (Request to Send) pin.

Parameters
  • value - An optional boolean.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns a boolean.
Notes
  • The default value is false.
  • Setting this to true is most likely required for Arduino devices prior to opening the serial port.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 1001
sendData
Signature hs.serial:sendData(value) -> none
Type Method
Description

Sends data via a serial port.

Parameters
  • value - A string of data to send.
Returns
  • None
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 1140
shouldEchoReceivedData
Signature hs.serial:shouldEchoReceivedData([value]) -> boolean | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets whether the port should echo received data.

Parameters
  • value - An optional boolean.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns a boolean.
Notes
  • The default value is false.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 1030
stopBits
Signature hs.serial:stopBits([value]) -> number | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets the number of stop bits for the serial port.

Parameters
  • value - An optional number to set the number of stop bits. It can be 1 or 2.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns the number of stop bits as a number.
Notes
  • The default value is 1.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 1058
usesDTRDSRFlowControl
Signature hs.serial:usesDTRDSRFlowControl([value]) -> boolean | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets whether the port should use DTR/DSR Flow Control.

Parameters
  • value - An optional boolean.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns a boolean.
Notes
  • The default value is false.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 916
usesRTSCTSFlowControl
Signature hs.serial:usesRTSCTSFlowControl([value]) -> boolean | serialPortObject
Type Method
Description

Gets or sets whether the port should use RTS/CTS Flow Control.

Parameters
  • value - An optional boolean.
Returns
  • If a value is specified, then this method returns the serial port object. Otherwise this method returns a boolean.
Notes
  • The default value is false.
Source extensions/serial/libserial.m line 944