Hello, New to this whole python arduino on pc please bare with me. A friend of mine said I should use python to talk from pc to arduino maybe it can work. Normally I can do a desktop application in C language. However that is for windows. If I want to make it for linux I need to make something else. I wanted to find a Universal way to work on windows and linux. and My friend told me to try python. I never never full python script to do anything. however I have played around with them to change things around.
My question is I know in order to use arduino on a pc I have to use com ports. I know they change all the time. I was wondering if anyone knows of a way it can detect the port the arduino is on so I don't have to go around searching for it. Linux is a lot different then windows I admit that and finding things in terminal is a little harder for me. Someone please help me to figure this out?
to get code portable (so you don't have to edit the source code) between Windows and Linux I tend to use Java but Python is an alternative
have a look at this python terminal emulator
# simple GUI terminal emulator
import os
import sys
import serial
import PySimpleGUI as psg
from serial.tools import list_ports # list the serial ports
# scan serial ports open first one found
if __name__ == "__main__":
for port in list_ports.comports():
if "USB" in port.hwid:
name=port.name
if os.name == 'posix': # if linux system add /dev/ to name
name='/dev/' + name
#print(f"Name: {port.name}")
print("Name:" + name)
print(f"Description: {port.description}")
serial1=serial.Serial(port=name,baudrate=115200) # open port
# if no ports found or open fails
try: serial1
except:
print("no serial port found/opened - exiting program")
sys.exit()
text = "" #Serial port " + port.description + " open - enter text\n"
#l1 = psg.Text('Simple terminal emulator', font=('Arial Bold', 20), expand_x=True, justification='center')
t1 = psg.Multiline(text, autoscroll=True, enter_submits=True, key='INPUT', expand_x=True, expand_y=True, justification='left')
layout = [[t1]]
window = psg.Window('Simple terminal emulator port ' + port.description , layout, size=(600, 700))
#ml = window['-INPUT-']
while True:
# serial data received? if so read byte and print it
while serial1.in_waiting > 0:
char = serial1.read() # read character received
print(str(char,'ASCII'),end='')
window['INPUT'].update(str(char,'ASCII'), text_color_for_value='green', append=True) #append it to window
event, values = window.read(timeout=500000) # check for event
print(event, values)
if event == psg.WIN_CLOSED: # if window closed
break
if event == "_Enter": # if characters input
print("enter")
if event == 'INPUT' + "_Enter": # if characters input
#text=str(values['INPUT'])
print("screen text " + text + "'")
#window['-IN-'].update("\ntransmitting>" + text[len(text)-1], text_color_for_value='blue', append=True) #append text to window
print("entered character " + str(len(text)) + " " + text[len(text)-1])
serial1.write(text[len(text)-1].encode())
window.close
serial1.close()
print("window and serial port closed")
it scans the serial ports and opens the first one it finds
e.g. Windows
@horace what I'm trying to see I can do is. deploy this and have it connect to a pc or server to be able to read out the computer information such as the hard drive, memory and power of how much it is taking. then save all that to an SD card. problem is I don't normally know what comport it is on and it does change over time after reboots. Sometime it stays the same sometime it changes. So I asked my friend what can I do about that so I don't have to keep going in there and changing it manually.
He told me to write a python script that detect which port it is on and talk to someone in the arduino community becuase it doesn't work with arduinoat all. That is why I'm here.
what I usually do is scan the available COM ports prompting each for a response, e.g. transmit a '?'
the required target device would be programmed to respond with some identifier, e.g. text such as "ESP32 pump control 1"
