![]() The standard Arduino library provides a Serial object, which has three commonly used methods. A running sketch executing Serial.print or Serial.println commands send most of the data from the Arduino board to the host. Some handshaking between the host and board is required to make sure the data is communicated correctly, so there is communication in both directions. Uploading a sketch to the board sends data (mostly) from the host to the board. When an Arduino board is connected to a host computer via a USB cable, the communication goes in both directions. ![]() Specifying precision of numerical valuesĬommunication between the Arduino board and host.Communication between the Arduino board and host.Programmers typically insert temporary print messages to understand the what is happening when the sketch is not working according to plan.įor additional details and examples, see Serial Print in a Nutshell and the information in the following outline. The messages are also useful during debugging. For example, the messages could be measurement data from sensors connected to the Arduino board. The messages from the Arduino board are useful for indicating the state of a running program. The host computer can display these messages as text in the Serial Monitor or as a dynamic plot in the Serial Plotter. Serial.begin() needs to go in the setup().Serial Communication with the Host ComputerĪn Arduino microcontroller can send messages back to the host computer over the USB connection. In order for us to use the functions of the Serial library, we have to initiate serial communication – to do this we use the Serial.begin() function. The serial library allows us to interface the Arduino with other hardware, like a computer. Now, it’s not cereal like Cheerios or Captain Crunch we’re talking about – it’s serial as in “one after another”. ![]() The print() function is part of a library called the Serial library. Generally speaking, a library is simply a collection of functions that all have something in common. We can’t talk about the Serial.print() function, without briefly talking about the Serial library. You can look at the code until your eyes bleed, but actually visualizing the variable being incremented, to see its values every time through the loop() can help explain what is happening very quickly. When you upload the code to the Arduino, you notice that the LED is blinking more often than it should. ![]() Maybe you have a variable that gets incremented every so often and blinks an LED when it reaches a threshold. Very often, when you are developing an Arduino sketch, what you end up coding does something differently than what you expected it to do. The other big reason to send information to a computer display using the Serial.print() function is for developing and debugging Arduino sketches. If you open up the serial monitor window (Tools > Serial Monitor), you will see the values streaming in from the Arduino. The first reason is being able to see information that you are generating with your Arduino.įor example, if you have a temperature sensor hooked up to your Arduino and you want to see the value that the temperature sensor is recording, then you can use the Serial.print() function to send the data to a computer monitor via the USB cable. There are an endless number of reasons you may want to send information from the Arduino to a computer display, but two reasons really stand out to me: The Serial.print() function’s task is to send information from your Arduino to your computer, so you can see the value displayed on your computer’s monitor. You may know that a function is a programming tool – it performs a specific task for you. Why Would You Want to Use the Serial.print() Function? By submitting this form you agree to the privacy policy, and can opt-out anytime. You will receive email correspondence about Arduino programming, electronics, and special offers.
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