Using Python to read and process serial data from Arduino

[mrExplore]

Hi all,


Not really sure where to post this, so general seems appropriate.
is there a tips/tricks section for 'maybe useful ideas' ?

This post:
https://forum.arduino.cc/t/copy-paste-serial-monitor-not-possible-options/1058964

Has lead me to explore the options of getting Arduino serial output into Python.

Often I find myself outputting to the serial monitor, copy-pasting data into excel, formatting, doing calculations...

But wouldn't it be nice to read the data into Python and process it?
I certainly think so

This is by no means a complete guide but it should get you started if you want to explore.

Requirements:
-- Python and a bit of Python skills
-- Installation of pyserial: https://pypi.org/project/pyserial/

The very basic code.


On the Arduino side:

#include <Streaming.h>

void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(115200);
}

void loop()
{
  Serial << "Current millis: " << millis() << endl;
  delay(1000);
}

Python code:

import serial


def readserial(comport, baudrate):

    ser = serial.Serial(comport, baudrate, timeout=0.1)         # 1/timeout is the frequency at which the port is read

    while True:
        data = ser.readline().decode().strip()
        if data:
            print(data)


if __name__ == '__main__':

    readserial('COM28', 115200)

Python code with timestamp:

import serial
import time


def readserial(comport, baudrate, timestamp=False):

    ser = serial.Serial(comport, baudrate, timeout=0.1)         # 1/timeout is the frequency at which the port is read

    while True:

        data = ser.readline().decode().strip()

        if data and timestamp:
            timestamp = time.strftime('%H:%M:%S')
            print(f'{timestamp} > {data}')
        elif data:
            print(data)


if __name__ == '__main__':

    readserial('COM28', 115200, True)                          # COM port, Baudrate, Show timestamp

[7gg7]

Is there a way to safely close the serial port and send a stop signal to the Arduino board?
I was thinking that a Ctrl-C, a Keyboard interrupt should be caught and the program sends a stop signal and closes the serial port.

This helped a lot though!! Thanks a ton!