170 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
170 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
# EspSoftwareSerial
|
|
|
|
## Implementation of the Arduino software serial library for the ESP8266 / ESP32 family
|
|
|
|
This fork implements interrupt service routine best practice.
|
|
In the receive interrupt, instead of blocking for whole bytes
|
|
at a time - voiding any near-realtime behavior of the CPU - only level
|
|
change and timestamp are recorded. The more time consuming phase
|
|
detection and byte assembly are done in the main code.
|
|
|
|
Except at high bitrates, depending on other ongoing activity,
|
|
interrupts in particular, this software serial adapter
|
|
supports full duplex receive and send. At high bitrates (115200bps)
|
|
send bit timing can be improved at the expense of blocking concurrent
|
|
full duplex receives, with the `SoftwareSerial::enableIntTx(false)` function call.
|
|
|
|
The same functionality is given as the corresponding AVR library but
|
|
several instances can be active at the same time. Speed up to 115200 baud
|
|
is supported. Besides a constructor compatible to the AVR SoftwareSerial class,
|
|
and updated constructor that takes no arguments exists, instead the `begin()`
|
|
function can handle the pin assignments and logic inversion.
|
|
It also has optional input buffer capacity arguments for byte buffer and ISR bit buffer.
|
|
This way, it is a better drop-in replacement for the hardware serial APIs on the ESP MCUs.
|
|
|
|
Please note that due to the fact that the ESPs always have other activities
|
|
ongoing, there will be some inexactness in interrupt timings. This may
|
|
lead to inevitable, but few, bit errors when having heavy data traffic
|
|
at high baud rates.
|
|
|
|
This library supports ESP8266, ESP32, ESP32-S2 and ESP32-C3 devices.
|
|
|
|
## Resource optimization
|
|
|
|
The memory footprint can be optimized to just fit the amount of expected
|
|
incoming asynchronous data.
|
|
For this, the `SoftwareSerial` constructor provides two arguments. First, the
|
|
octet buffer capacity for assembled received octets can be set. Read calls are
|
|
satisfied from this buffer, freeing it in return.
|
|
Second, the signal edge detection buffer of 32bit fields can be resized.
|
|
One octet may require up to to 10 fields, but fewer may be needed,
|
|
depending on the bit pattern. Any read or write calls check this buffer
|
|
to assemble received octets, thus promoting completed octets to the octet
|
|
buffer, freeing fields in the edge detection buffer.
|
|
|
|
Look at the swsertest.ino example. There, on reset, ASCII characters ' ' to 'z'
|
|
are sent. This happens not as a block write, but in a single write call per
|
|
character. As the example uses a local loopback wire, every outgoing bit is
|
|
immediately received back. Therefore, any single write call causes up to
|
|
10 fields - depending on the exact bit pattern - to be occupied in the signal
|
|
edge detection buffer. In turn, as explained before, each single write call
|
|
also causes received bit assembly to be performed, promoting these bits from
|
|
the signal edge detection buffer to the octet buffer as soon as possible.
|
|
Explaining by way of contrast, if during a a single write call, perhaps because
|
|
of using block writing, more than a single octet is received, there will be a
|
|
need for more than 10 fields in the signal edge detection buffer.
|
|
The necessary capacity of the octet buffer only depends on the amount of incoming
|
|
data until the next read call.
|
|
|
|
For the swsertest.ino example, this results in the following optimized
|
|
constructor arguments to spend only the minimum RAM on buffers required:
|
|
|
|
The octet buffer capacity (`bufCapacity`) is 95 (93 characters net plus two tolerance).
|
|
The signal edge detection buffer capacity (`isrBufCapacity`) is 11, as each
|
|
single octet can have up to 11 bits on the wire,
|
|
which are immediately received during the write, and each
|
|
write call causes the signal edge detection to promote the previously sent and
|
|
received bits to the octet buffer.
|
|
|
|
In a more generalized scenario, calculate the bits (use message size in octets
|
|
times 10) that may be asynchronously received to determine the value for
|
|
`isrBufCapacity` in the constructor. Also use the number of received octets
|
|
that must be buffered for reading as the value of `bufCapacity`.
|
|
The more frequently your code calls write or read functions, the greater the
|
|
chances are that you can reduce the `isrBufCapacity` footprint without losing data,
|
|
and each time you call read to fetch from the octet buffer, you reduce the
|
|
need for space there.
|
|
|
|
## SoftwareSerialConfig and parity
|
|
The configuration of the data stream is done via a `SoftwareSerialConfig`
|
|
argument to `begin()`. Word lengths can be set to between 5 and 8 bits, parity
|
|
can be N(one), O(dd) or E(ven) and 1 or 2 stop bits can be used. The default is
|
|
`SWSERIAL_8N1` using 8 bits, no parity and 1 stop bit but any combination can
|
|
be used, e.g. `SWSERIAL_7E2`. If using EVEN or ODD parity, any parity errors
|
|
can be detected with the `readParity()` and `parityEven()` or `parityOdd()`
|
|
functions respectively. Note that the result of `readParity()` always applies
|
|
to the preceding `read()` or `peek()` call, and is undefined if they report
|
|
no data or an error.
|
|
|
|
To allow flexible 9-bit and data/addressing protocols, the additional parity
|
|
modes MARK and SPACE are also available. Furthermore, the parity mode can be
|
|
individually set in each call to `write()`.
|
|
|
|
This allows a simple implementation of protocols where the parity bit is used to
|
|
distinguish between data and addresses/commands ("9-bit" protocols). First set
|
|
up SoftwareSerial with parity mode SPACE, e.g. `SWSERIAL_8S1`. This will add a
|
|
parity bit to every byte sent, setting it to logical zero (SPACE parity).
|
|
|
|
To detect incoming bytes with the parity bit set (MARK parity), use the
|
|
`readParity()` function. To send a byte with the parity bit set, just add
|
|
`MARK` as the second argument when writing, e.g. `write(ch, SWSERIAL_PARITY_MARK)`.
|
|
|
|
## Checking for correct pin selection / configuration
|
|
In general, most pins on the ESP8266 and ESP32 devices can be used by SoftwareSerial,
|
|
however each device has a number of pins that have special functions or require careful
|
|
handling to prevent undesirable situations, for example they are connected to the
|
|
on-board SPI flash memory or they are used to determine boot and programming modes
|
|
after powerup or brownouts. These pins are not able to be configured by this library.
|
|
|
|
The exact list for each device can be found in the
|
|
[ESP32 data sheet](https://www.espressif.com/sites/default/files/documentation/esp32_datasheet_en.pdf)
|
|
in sections 2.2 (Pin Descriptions) and 2.4 (Strapping pins). There is a discussion
|
|
dedicated to the use of GPIO12 in this
|
|
[note about GPIO12](https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/tree/release/v3.2/examples/storage/sd_card#note-about-gpio12).
|
|
Refer to the `isValidGPIOpin()`, `isValidRxGPIOpin()` and `isValidTxGPIOpin()`
|
|
functions for the GPIO restrictions enforced by this library by default.
|
|
|
|
The easiest and safest method is to test the object returned at runtime, to see if
|
|
it is valid. For example:
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
|
|
|
|
#define MYPORT_TX 12
|
|
#define MYPORT_RX 13
|
|
|
|
SoftwareSerial myPort;
|
|
|
|
[...]
|
|
|
|
Serial.begin(115200); // Standard hardware serial port
|
|
|
|
myPort.begin(38400, SWSERIAL_8N1, MYPORT_RX, MYPORT_TX, false);
|
|
if (!myPort) { // If the object did not initialize, then its configuration is invalid
|
|
Serial.println("Invalid SoftwareSerial pin configuration, check config");
|
|
while (1) { // Don't continue with invalid configuration
|
|
delay (1000);
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
[...]
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Using and updating EspSoftwareSerial in the esp8266com/esp8266 Arduino build environment
|
|
|
|
EspSoftwareSerial is both part of the BSP download for ESP8266 in Arduino,
|
|
and it is set up as a Git submodule in the esp8266 source tree,
|
|
specifically in `.../esp8266/libraries/SoftwareSerial` when using a Github
|
|
repository clone in your Arduino sketchbook hardware directory.
|
|
This supersedes any version of EspSoftwareSerial installed for instance via
|
|
the Arduino library manager, it is not required to install EspSoftwareSerial
|
|
for the ESP8266 separately at all, but doing so has ill effect.
|
|
|
|
The responsible maintainer of the esp8266 repository has kindly shared the
|
|
following command line instructions to use, if one wishes to manually
|
|
update EspSoftwareSerial to a newer release than pulled in via the ESP8266 Arduino BSP:
|
|
|
|
To update esp8266/arduino SoftwareSerial submodule to lastest master:
|
|
|
|
Clean it (optional):
|
|
```shell
|
|
$ rm -rf libraries/SoftwareSerial
|
|
$ git submodule update --init
|
|
```
|
|
Now update it:
|
|
```shell
|
|
$ cd libraries/SoftwareSerial
|
|
$ git checkout master
|
|
$ git pull
|
|
```
|