Hello,
The Processing Serial library has served me very well over the years!
I am looking for alternatives to the Processing Serial library for some of my more advanced projects.
What are your experiences with other Java serial libraries?
I have been exploring jSerialComm and leaning toward using that:
NOTE:
AI was used for research for AI generated responses below and need to be scrutinized.
Google Gemini comparison:
Summary
| Feature | Processing Serial Library (Wrapper) | jSerialComm (Standalone) | Accuracy Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| API Abstraction | High-Level, Simplified. | Low-Level, Standard Java. | Accurate. The wrapper hides complexity, exposing simple, Processing-friendly methods. |
| Underlying Library | jSSC (Java Simple Serial Connector). | jSerialComm (Modern, actively maintained). | Accurate. Confirmed by the source code you provided for Processing’s current implementation. |
| Ease of Use | Very High. | Medium. | Accurate. Processing’s single serialEvent() callback is much simpler than managing Java I/O Streams and custom listeners. |
| Threading Model | Fixed. Uses a dedicated callback (serialEvent) invoked by Processing’s core loop (pre()). |
Flexible. Supports Blocking, Non-Blocking, and dedicated thread Listeners. | Accurate. This is a critical architectural difference. Processing forces the use of pre() to handle events safely. |
| Configuration | Limited. Simple parameters. | Extensive. Full control over advanced parameters. | Accurate. The wrapper focuses on common settings; jSerialComm exposes virtually all port options. |
| Port Listing | Simple array of port names: Serial.list() |
Returns detailed SerialPort objects. |
Accurate. jSerialComm provides a richer data object for each port. |
| Error Handling | Relies on throwing RuntimeExceptions. |
Uses standard Java checked exceptions (try-catch). |
Accurate. Processing often throws an immediate Runtime error, whereas Java best practice (like jSerialComm) uses recoverable exceptions. |
| Port Status | Only exposes active(), getCTS(), and getDSR(). |
Provides methods to check and set the state of all control lines (DTR, RTS, CTS, DSR). | Accurate. The Processing code snippet confirms it exposes limited control line status. |
ChatGPT comparison:
Summary
| Feature | Processing Serial Library (Built-in with jSSC) | jSerialComm |
|---|---|---|
| Integration with Processing | Built-in and part of Processing 4.x (uses jSSC internally) | Not built-in, but can be added to Processing |
| Ease of Use | Very easy to use, minimal setup | Slightly more complex, more control over settings |
| Platform Support | Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS) via jSSC (native support for each OS) | Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS) with native support |
| Non-blocking IO | No (blocking IO by default) | Yes, supports non-blocking IO (asynchronous reads/writes) |
| Port Scanning | Manual, you have to use Serial.list() to find ports |
Automatic detection and port scanning |
| Advanced Features | Basic serial communication (open, close, read/write) | Full feature set (timeouts, non-blocking, error events) |
| Real-Time / Performance | Suitable for simple, low-latency projects | Better for performance-intensive or real-time apps |
| Error Handling | Basic error reporting | Advanced error handling with customizable callbacks |
| Timeouts | No built-in timeout support | Yes, supports read/write timeouts |
| Use Case | Quick prototyping, simple serial communication | High-performance apps requiring fine-grained control |
| Custom Configuration | Limited (only basic port settings available) | Full control over baud rate, stop bits, data bits, etc. |
| Extensibility | Not easily extensible beyond what Processing offers | Fully extensible and customizable for advanced use cases |
:)
