BSP and Device Driver Development Guide
There are generally two main functioning modes for an UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter, i.e. the serial chip):
In polled mode, the processor blocks on sending/receiving characters. This mode is not the most efficient way to utilize the UART. But polled mode is usually necessary when one wants to print an error message in the event of a fatal error such as a fatal error in the BSP. This is also the simplest mode to program. Polled mode is generally preferred if the serial port is to be used primarily as a debug console. In a simple polled driver, the software will continuously check the status of the UART when it is reading or writing to the UART. Termios improves on this by delaying the caller for 1 clock tick between successive checks of the UART on a read operation.
In interrupt driven mode, the processor does not block on sending/receiving characters. Data is buffered between the interrupt service routine and application code. Two buffers are used to insulate the application from the relative slowness of the serial device. One of the buffers is used for incoming characters, while the other is used for outgoing characters.
An interrupt is raised when a character is received by the UART. The interrupt subroutine places the incoming character at the end of the input buffer. When an application asks for input, the characters at the front of the buffer are returned.
When the application prints to the serial device, the outgoing characters are placed at the end of the output buffer. The driver will place one or more characters in the UART (the exact number depends on the UART) An interrupt will be raised when all the characters have been transmitted. The interrupt service routine has to send the characters remaining in the output buffer the same way. When the transmitting side of the UART is idle, it is typically necessary to prime the transmitter before the first interrupt will occur.
BSP and Device Driver Development Guide
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