SerialPort Support on Windows

[shaggygi]

Just wondering if SerialPort namespace will be included at some point?

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Execution plan

• 1. @JeremyKuhne to seed the sources in CoreFX (from full .NET Framework) - add source code (sanitized, with licenses), the source won't build
• 2. Make the code build
  • CC: @JeremyKuhne @karelz on PRs
  • Note: We will not take any functional changes to the implementation, architecture, or API surface at this point unless they are absolutely necessary to make the code compile on .NET Core. Please give heads up on this issue as soon as you discover cases like that.
• 3. Add tests - tracking progress in dotnet/corefx#15752
  • @JeremyKuhne to find out if we can leverage full .NET Framework tests
  • We need to design the test environment - we need ability to test the code in CI (ideally without heavy modification of CI machines)
  • We need to set goal for code coverage

If anyone is working on any step, please mention it & coordinate here to avoid duplicated effort. @karelz will co-assign the issue to you as well.

[Maxwe11]

👍 for supporting communication over serial line in corefx.
It could be existing SerialPort class however I'd prefer new more reliable api based directly on Stream.

[sawilde]

There are a few nuget packages that already provide this capability as there are such a small number of downloads it makes you wonder what the demand is.

[shaggygi]

@sawilde could you provide a link for those? I would like to try them out. Thx

[sawilde]

http://www.nuget.org/packages?q=serial

[shaggygi]

Thx

[ellismg]

My general feeling is that Serial Port is not a good long term fit when you think about foundational libraries of .NET Core, and hence we wouldn't include it in the CoreFX project. The current SerialPort class source is MIT licensed now, as part of the .NET Reference Source project, so folks are free to take it an run with it.

In general, I think we'd like CoreFX to be a set of libraries that are useful across the entire .NET ecosystem. That includes devices like Phones, Severs, Tablets where a serial port library is unlikely to be useful.

[Maxwe11]

Serial Port is not a good long term fit when you think about foundational libraries of .NET Core

.NET ecosystem. That includes devices like Phones, Severs, Tablets where a serial port library is unlikely to be useful.

What the problems to use SerialPort on server? It's a powerful "tool" like pipes or sockets.
.NET ecosystem now includes Linux and Mac, but Win32.Registry presented in corefx.

[ellismg]

@Maxwe11, I'm interested in understanding more about how serial pots would be used in server scenarios. I can see how both pipes and sockets are useful in general for IPC, what sorts of uses does serial port have?

You're right about CoreFX containing some Win32isms, However, we are doing our best to minimize the set of types that pull in Win32 concepts. The desire to be able to run stacks like ASP.NET vNext requires that we bring in some components that are windows centric and will be hard to support on Linux and Mac, but when possible we are trying to be explicit in the surface area we add to the core, to make sure it's suited for a wide range of platforms and devices.

[shaggygi]

@ellismg I can see your point of view on this topic as there were several discussions why serial port capability was not provided out-of-box for WinRT. However, this feature is needed all the time in some industries like building automation. In addition, if corefx is expected to be used with embedded devices, those type of applications use uarts quite a bit.

I would agree it might not need to be included as long as there is a package we can include and hopefully be cross plat as well. Thx

[shaggygi]

One other note... I've also seen cases where data cables were needed to connect between pc/tablet/phone via USB to devices for serial communications (232, 485). Having this feature would support these types of apps.

[Maxwe11]

I'm interested in understanding more about how serial pots would be used in server scenarios. I can see how both pipes and sockets are useful in general for IPC, what sorts of uses does serial port have?

As mentioned by @shaggygi: for communicating with embedded devices.

[shaggygi]

I don't recall adding anything about using with servers. If so, it must have been a typo.

[akoeplinger]

+1 for SerialPort, it is still widely used in industrial/embedded systems.

I'm not sure whether we need it in corefx though, having a separate package should be fine too (after all, better modularization is one of the benefits of the new model). Maybe it's time for dotnet/extendedfx 😄

[Tragetaschen]

I don't really care if it's from corefx or any other repository as long as it's coming from Microsoft. In the past, that always meant a certain level of quality.