Talk:Serial port

Merge proposal

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

The result of this discussion was unopposed merge. Викидим (talk) 19:46, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

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I propose to merge 8-N-1 into this article (section Serial port#Conventional notation). There is not much to say about 8-N-1, as it essentially a shorthand description of a particular format of asynchronous communications. Given a proper context, two sentences of text are sufficient to describe the term, it might not even worth a section of its own. Викидим (talk) 05:59, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

• Merge per Викидим, the 8-N-1 article does not appear to have much coverage on its own, I don't think it meets GNG. Justiyaya 10:06, 1 December 2024 (UTC)
• Merge as per nom. --Zac67 (talk) 15:05, 1 December 2024 (UTC)
• Comment there seem to be (barely) enough sources to justify a standalone article but that doesn't mean we're required to have a standalone article if the material can be covered competently elsewhere as it appears it can. ~Kvng (talk) 15:13, 6 December 2024 (UTC)
• Merge into Serial port#Conventional notation, then convert other article into a REDIRECT. Other article is very similar to content in this article. • Sbmeirow • Talk • 18:46, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Yost

Yost is the only pinout for which the pinout for a null modem connection is described. Worse, it is described as "DCE" which is not correct unless a crossover cable is used. Yost is somewhat unique in that a "flat" crossover cable (as opposed to an Ethernet crossover cable which swaps pairs, not pins) realizes a null modem, but as it is I feel the description is more confusing than helpful.

If that information is still valuable, it would in my option be better to have a second table with the appropriate null modem connections for all the pinout types. HPA (talk) 22:23, 23 November 2025 (UTC)

"port" and "interface" consistency

Near the start the article states (bold is mine, to highlight the suggestion):

"While interfaces such as Ethernet, FireWire, and USB also send data as a serial stream, the term serial port usually denotes hardware compliant with RS-232 or a related standard, such as RS-485 or RS-422."

I noticed while reading that "port" and "interface" are used interchangeably. However, I think we should not mix them up in a single paragraph. In my view, the term "port" normally applies best, since it's used less generally in everyday language.

To notice the effect, read both paragraphs from beginning to end.

"While ports such as Ethernet, FireWire, and USB also send data as a serial stream, the term serial port usually denotes hardware compliant with RS-232 or a related standard, such as RS-485 or RS-422." ~2025-34893-89 (talk) 18:21, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

I am OP, and would like to add another issue:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_port#Hardware

"Modern devices use an integrated circuit called a UART to implement a serial port. This IC converts characters to and from asynchronous serial form, implementing the timing and framing of data specified by the serial protocol in hardware."

The term IC is not defined anywhere. I think we should use:

"Modern devices use an integrated circuit (IC) called a UART to implement a serial port. This IC converts characters to and from asynchronous serial form, implementing the timing and framing of data specified by the serial protocol in hardware." ~2025-34893-89 (talk) 18:57, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

Powered serial port

often used in POS (Point of Sale) and industrial settings, is an RS-232 interface modified to provide 5V or 12V or 24V power to peripheral devices . There should be a section about it in the article. Setenzatsu.2 (talk) 23:29, 26 April 2026 (UTC)