User`s manual

8 Serial Port I/O
8-2
Introduction
What Is MATLAB’s Serial Port Interface?
MATLAB’s 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.
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 MATLAB’s 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” on page 8-4. Refer to your computer
and device documentation to see which interface standard you can use.
Supported Platforms
MATLAB’s serial port interface is supported for Microsoft Windows 95,
Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Linux, and Sun Solaris platforms.