in the following sections, we describe the installation of the library, and the utilities supported for various programming platforms.
pcomm, a professional serial comm tool for pcs, is a software package that runs under windows nt/2000/xp and windows 95/98. pcomm provides:
1 a powerful serial communication library for easy programming in the most popular programming languages. the serial communication library is useful for developing applications for data communications, remote access, data acquisition, and industrial control under windows nt/2000/xp or windows 95/98. it is an simpler solution compared to the more complex windows win32 comm api.
2 useful utilities such as diagnostic, monitor, and terminal emulator.
3 illustrative sample programs,
4 comprehensive on-line documentation.
pcomm installation
to install pcomm, run \setup.exe from the diskette enclosed in the package. please note that the pcomm diagnostic and monitor utilities are for moxa boards only; these two utilities will not work with other manufacturers serial boards.
after pcomm is successfully installed, click on [start], select [program files], and then pcomm lite group to select a list of utilities and documents.
pcomm programming library
the serial communication library assists you in developing serial communications programs for any com port that complies with microsoft win32 api. it facilitates the implementation of multi-process and multi-thread serial communication programs and hence remarkably reduces development time.
this serial communication library provides a complete function library and sample programs for visual c++, visual basic, and delphi. to view detailed function descriptions and sample programs, click on [start] → [program] → [pcomm lite] → [pcomm lib help], [pcomm porting notes] or [pcomm programming guide], or refer to the sample programs in the pcomm directory.
utilities
in this section, we give brief descriptions of each utility. for more information about these utilities, see the on-line help from the software diskette.
diagnostic (for moxa boards only)
a convenient diagnostic program, only for moxa boards and ports, provides internal and external testing of irq, txd/rxd, uart, cts/rts, dtr/dsr, dtr/dcd, etc. it allows the user to check the function of both software and hardware.
to run the diagnostic program, click on [start]→[program]→[pcomm lite]→[diagnostic]. a typical test report for the cp-168u series board is shown below.
monitor (for moxa boards under windows nt/2000/xp)
a useful port status monitoring program allows you to monitor data transmission of selected moxa com ports. it monitors data transmission/receiving throughput, and communication line status, with data updated and displayed on the screen at regular time intervals. click on a specific port to see a graph of the current communication parameters and status of that port.
to run the monitor program, click on [start]→[program]→[pcomm lite]→[monitor].
terminal emulator
terminal emulator can be used to connect to various ports to see if data transmission is functioning correctly. terminal emulator features multi-windows, and supports vt100 and ansi terminal types. you can transfer data interactively, send patterns periodically, and transfer files using ascii, xmodem, ymodem, zmodem, and kermit protocols.
to run terminal emulator, click on [start]→[program]→[pcomm lite]→[terminal emulator].
