Termie: A Simple RS232 Terminal
Termie opens a serial port and allows you to communicate with it in a chat-like interface.
Introduction
Termie opens a serial port and logs data received to a window. It is useful for embedded software development. It can also send data so it is actually a RS232 terminal with a chat-like interface.
An embedded system is a special-purpose computer such as a Wii, MP3 player, or cell phone. To develop for such a system, you need a development "kit" which allows you to download software and debug. Communication between your PC and the embedded system is often a serial cable (RS-232).
In my case, I get output from the embedded system (a game console) via an RS-232 cable. So if I want to see my printfs, I need a program that will display anything that comes in the COM port on my PC.
Background
Termie is an open source clone of Termite from ITB CompuPhase.
What I liked about Termite is that it is simple and fast. Hyperterminal is clunky. I wanted something similar to Termite that was open source. Writing it in C# turned out to be easy; a weekend project. Once done, I can add new features as needed and get great suggestions here!
Settings
Settings are stored in an INI file in the application startup folder:
Features
- Multiple select, select all, and copy to the clipboard
- Hex Output (not in Termite)
- Output filter (not in Termite)
- Partial line output (so you can see "..." one dot at a time)
- Click status to close/open with current port settings
- Toggle Scrolling button
- Send File button
- Color coded lines (green=received, blue=sent)
- Send escape sequences (\n, \x7f)
- Send history
Using the Code
System.IO.Ports has a SerialPort class that does everything we want. I wrapped it in a singleton class with delegates for status and data events.
History
- February-2008: Original submission
- March-2008: Added clipboard, output filter, hex output, monospace font, and all settings
- May-2008: Added read thread, partial output, color coding, and "send file"
- October-2008: Fixed thread bug, added history and escape sequences to send (\n, \x7f), and upgraded project files to Visual C# 2008 Express