On 6/21/06, jdow <jdow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: "David Fletcher" <fc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > I'm interested in this thread too, but for different reasons. > > We have a looming problem at work, which is a test instrument that's > controlled by a DOS program on a PC via a serial cable. It works OK but > serial ports are fast vanishing from PCs especially laptops. Um, USB to serial adapters exist. (Two kinds exist, actually. One is a three wire serial emulation. The other is a full emulation.) These work remarkably well. I've been using them for over a year now. So adapting the DOS program to almost anything while maintaining a serial port interface should be no problem at all for either 'ix or 'indows environments.
It is a problem for hobbyists though. I did a project a few years ago that used a parallel port to interface with an A/D convertor and a multiplexer. This is incredibly easy to program in linux. You can't do this with USB without interface chips/dongles, and the software side is more complicated. -- imalone
