Serial Port Logger and Serial Port Logger ActiveX. How a Serial Port Logger can be Very Useful
An RS-232 or a Recommended Standard 232 refers to a particular standard for serial binary data signals sent between Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) and Data Circuit-terminating Equipment (DCE). In other words, an RS-232 connects between a computer terminal where user information can be transformed into transmission data and another device, such as a modem. Over computing history, ports using this standard were first used to connect teletypewriters with modems, but were eventually used to connect devices, such as printers, mice, and keyboards to the main computer. With the rise of these applications came the need for monitoring software such as a Serial Port Logger.
As its designation implies, these loggers can take the data being transferred over a serial port and output it into a text file or a log, which thus serves as a record of the data transferred. This can be useful for in-depth probing of the mechanics of a serial port connection and finding out how it works exactly. A close look at the actual data being sent over a port and how it is arranged and formatted gives a lot of information towards the serial port standard itself.
Looking at the actual data being transferred at a low level can also help in monitoring and maintaining the proper working of the connection. This becomes important for particularly demanding applications, such as those found in science and industry. Keeping expensive equipment connected properly to controller terminals is a major task that deserves the utmost care and thoroughness. The careful use of loggers enables scientists, engineers, and technicians to have full control over all of their serial port connections, allowing them to make any necessary changes or adjustments should the need arise.
Most of these loggers come in the form of stand-alone programs that must be run on a computer connected to the serial port in question. They also usually have other functions apart from simple monitoring and data logging. For instance, using scripting commands, a user may fully automate the process of monitoring, logging, and even keying in the appropriate response in case of anomalies. That is, the logging program can be told to respond in a certain way to a particular configuration of data that it sees being transferred through the port that it is monitoring.
For fully automated monitoring, there are even loggers that are self-contained: they are actual pieces of equipment that can just be plugged into the equipment to be monitored. That is, they do not require a separate computer or laptop to run on anymore. These self-contained loggers represent the ultimate in convenience, as they can just be turned on and left on their own selves collecting data. However, for customized applications, they may be a little trickier to reprogram.
It all comes down to choosing the right serial port logger for one’s purposes. For most home users, a simple logger program that can be run under the operating system will prove sufficient for their purposes. For bigger applications that require a lot of automation, self-contained logger boxes may be more suitable.