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SoftwareSerial Library Limitations of This Library

Examples
Programming The SoftwareSerial library allows serial communication on other digital pins of an Arduino
board. Methods

Electronics SoftwareSerial()
Author Arduino Last revision 15/06/2022
Syntax
Communication
Parameters
The SoftwareSerial library allows serial communication on other digital pins of
Hardware Design Returns
an Arduino board, using software to replicate the functionality (hence the name
"SoftwareSerial"). It is possible to have multiple software serial ports with Example
Built-In Libraries speeds up to 115200 bps. A parameter enables inverted signaling for devices See also
which require that protocol. available()
PDM Library
The version of SoftwareSerial included in 1.0 and later is based on the Help
I2S Library
NewSoftSerial library by 'Mikal Hart'.
EEPROM Library
To use this library:
SoftwareSerial Library
COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h>

Limitations of This Library

SoftwareSerial library has the following known limitations:

It cannot transmit and receive data at the same time.

If using multiple software serial ports, only one can receive data at a time.
Not all pins on the Mega and Mega 2560 boards support change
interrupts, so only the following can be used for RX: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
50, 51, 52, 53, A8 (62), A9 (63), A10 (64), A11 (65), A12 (66), A13 (67), A14
(68), A15 (69). Not all pins on the Leonardo and Micro boards support
change interrupts, so only the following can be used for RX: 8, 9, 10, 11, 14
(MISO), 15 (SCK), 16 (MOSI).
On Arduino or Genuino 101 boards the current maximum RX speed is
57600bps.
On Arduino or Genuino 101 boards RX doesn't work on digital pin 13.

If your project requires simultaneous data flows, see Paul Stoffregen's

AltSoftSerial library.

Examples
SoftwareSerial example: sometimes one serial port just isn't enough!

Two port receive: Work with multiple software serial ports.

Methods

SoftwareSerial()

Create an instance of a SoftwareSerial object. Multiple SoftwareSerial objects

may be created, however only one can be active at a given moment.

Syntax

COPY

1 SoftwareSerial(rxPin, txPin, inverse_logic)

Parameters

rxPin: the pin on which to receive serial data.

txPin: the pin on which to transmit serial data.
inverse_logic: used to invert the sense of incoming bits (the default is
normal logic). If set, SoftwareSerial treats a LOW (0v on the pin, normally)
on the RX pin as a 1-bit (the idle state) and a HIGH (5V on the pin,
normally) as a 0-bit. It also affects the way that it writes to the TX pin.
Default value is false.

Returns

None.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 const byte rxPin = 2;
4 const byte txPin = 3;
5
6 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object
7 SoftwareSerial mySerial (rxPin, txPin);

See also

available()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

available()

Get the number of bytes (characters) available for reading from a software
serial port. This is data that has already arrived and stored in the serial receive
buffer.

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.available()

Parameters

None.

Returns

The number of bytes available to read.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 #define rxPin 10
4 #define txPin 11
5
6 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object
7 SoftwareSerial mySerial = SoftwareSerial(rxPin, txPin);
8
9 void setup() {
10 // Define pin modes for TX and RX
11 pinMode(rxPin, INPUT);
12 pinMode(txPin, OUTPUT);
13
14 // Set the baud rate for the SoftwareSerial object
15 mySerial.begin(9600);
16 }
17
18 void loop() {
19 if (mySerial.available() > 0) {
20 mySerial.read();
21 }
22 }

See also

SoftwareSerial()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

begin()

Sets the speed (baud rate) for the serial communication. Supported baud rates
are: 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, 19200, 28800, 31250, 38400,
57600, and 115200 bauds.

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.begin(speed)

Parameters

speed: the desired baud rate (long). Supported baud rates are: 300, 600,
1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400, 19200, 28800, 31250, 38400, 57600, and
115200 bauds.

Returns

None.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 #define rxPin 10
4 #define txPin 11
5
6 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object
7 SoftwareSerial mySerial = SoftwareSerial(rxPin, txPin);
8
9 void setup() {
10 // Define pin modes for TX and RX
11 pinMode(rxPin, INPUT);
12 pinMode(txPin, OUTPUT);
13
14 // Set the baud rate for the SoftwareSerial object
15 mySerial.begin(9600);
16 }
17
18 void loop() {
19 // ...
20 }

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

isListening()

Tests to see if requested software serial object is actively listening.

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.isListening()

Parameters

None.

Returns

Boolean.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital p
4 SoftwareSerial portOne(10, 11);
5
6 void setup() {
7 // Set the baud rate for the Serial port
8 Serial.begin(9600);
9
10 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware object
11 portOne.begin(9600);
12 }
13
14 void loop() {
15 if (portOne.isListening()) {
16 Serial.println("portOne is listening!");
17 }
18
19 // ...

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

overflow()

Tests to see if a SoftwareSerial buffer overflow has occurred. Calling this

function clears the overflow flag, meaning that subsequent calls will return
false unless another byte of data has been received and discarded in the
meantime. The SoftwareSerial buffer can hold up to 64 bytes.

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.overflow()

Parameters

None.

Returns

Boolean.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital p
4 SoftwareSerial portOne(10, 11);
5
6 void setup() {
7 // Set the baud rate for the Serial port
8 Serial.begin(9600);
9
10 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware object
11 portOne.begin(9600);
12 }
13
14 void loop() {
15 if (portOne.overflow()) {
16 Serial.println("portOne overflow!");
17 }
18
19 // ...

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

isListening()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

peek()

Return a character that was received on the RX pin of the software serial port.
Unlike read(), however, subsequent calls to this function will return the same
character. Note that only one SoftwareSerial object can receive incoming data
at a time (select which one with the listen() function).

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.peek()

Parameters

None.

Returns

The character read or -1 if none is available.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital p
4 SoftwareSerial mySerial(10, 11);
5
6 void setup() {
7 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware object
8 mySerial.begin(9600);
9 }
10
11 void loop() {
12 char c = mySerial.peek();
13 }

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

read()

Return a character that was received on the RX pin of the SoftwareSerial

objecto. Note that only one SoftwareSerial object can receive incoming data at
a time (select which one with the listen() function).

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.read()

Parameters

None.

Returns

The character read or -1 if none is available.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital p
4 SoftwareSerial mySerial(10, 11);
5
6 void setup() {
7 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware object
8 mySerial.begin(9600);
9 }
10
11 void loop() {
12 char c = mySerial.read();
13 }

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

print()

Prints data to the transmit pin of the SoftwareSerial object. Works the same as
the Serial.print() function.

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.print(val)

Parameters

val: the value to print.

Returns

The number of bytes written (reading this number is optional).

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital
4 SoftwareSerial mySerial(10, 11);
5
6 int analogValue;
7
8 void setup() {
9 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware object
10 mySerial.begin(9600);
11 }
12
13 void loop() {
14 // Read the analog value on pin A0
15 analogValue = analogRead(A0);
16
17 // Print analogValue in the Serial Monitor in many fo
18 mySerial.print(analogValue); // Print as an A
19 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
20 mySerial.print(analogValue, DEC); // Print as an A
21 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
22 mySerial.print(analogValue, HEX); // Print as an A
23 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
24 mySerial.print(analogValue, OCT); // Print as an A
25 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
26 mySerial.print(analogValue, BIN); // Print as an A
27 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
28 mySerial.print(analogValue/4, BYTE); // Print as a ra
29 // value in 4 be

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

write()

println()

Prints data to the transmit pin of the SoftwareSerial object followed by a

carriage return and line feed. Works the same as the Serial.println() function.

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.println(val)

Parameters

val: the value to print.

Returns

The number of bytes written (reading this number is optional).

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital
4 SoftwareSerial mySerial(10, 11);
5
6 int analogValue;
7
8 void setup() {
9 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware object
10 mySerial.begin(9600);
11 }
12
13 void loop() {
14 // Read the analog value on pin A0
15 analogValue = analogRead(A0);
16
17 // Print analogValue in the Serial Monitor in many fo
18 mySerial.print(analogValue); // Print as an A
19 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
20 mySerial.print(analogValue, DEC); // Print as an A
21 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
22 mySerial.print(analogValue, HEX); // Print as an A
23 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
24 mySerial.print(analogValue, OCT); // Print as an A
25 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
26 mySerial.print(analogValue, BIN); // Print as an A
27 mySerial.print("\t"); // Print a tab c
28 mySerial.print(analogValue/4, BYTE); // Print as a ra
29 // value in 4 be

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

listen()

write()

listen()

Enables the selected SoftwareSerial object to listen. Only one SoftwareSerial

object can listen at a time; data that arrives for other ports will be discarded.
Any data already received is discarded during the call to listen() function (unless
the given instance is already listening).

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.listen()

Parameters

None.

Returns

Returns true if it replaces another.

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital
4 SoftwareSerial portOne(10, 11);
5
6 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital
7 SoftwareSerial portTwo(8, 9);
8
9 void setup() {
10 // Set the baud rate for the Serial object
11 Serial.begin(9600);
12
13 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware objects
14 portOne.begin(9600);
15 portTwo.begin(9600);
16 }
17
18 void loop() {
19 // Enable SoftwareSerial object to listen
20 portOne.listen();
21
22 if (portOne.isListening()) {
23 Serial.println("portOne is listening!");
24 } else {
25 Serial.println("portOne is not listening!");
26 }
27
28 if (portTwo.isListening()) {
29 Serial.println("portTwo is listening!");

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

write()

write()

Prints data to the transmit pin of the SoftwareSerial object as raw bytes. Works
the same as the Serial.write()function.

Syntax

COPY

1 mySerial.write(val)

Parameters

val: the binary value to print.

Returns

The number of bytes written (reading this number is optional).

Example

COPY

1 #include <SoftwareSerial.h> Expliquer

2
3 // Set up a new SoftwareSerial object with RX in digital p
4 SoftwareSerial mySerial(10, 11);
5
6 void setup() {
7 // Set the baud rate for the SerialSoftware object
8 mySerial.begin(9600);
9 }
10
11 void loop() {
12 // Send a byte with the value 45
13 mySerial.write(45);
14
15 //Send the string “hello” and return the length of the
16 int bytesSent = mySerial.write(“hello”);
17 }

See also

SoftwareSerial()

available()

begin()

isListening()

overflow()

peek()

read()

print()

println()

listen()

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