Serial Communication using UART

Abstract

A UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) is the microchip with programming that controls a computer's interface to its attached serial devices. Specifically, it provides the computer with the RS-232C Data Terminal Equipment
(DTE) interface so that it can "talk" to and exchange data with modems and other serial devices. As part of this interface, the UART also:
• Converts the bytes it receives from the computer along parallel circuits into a single serial bit stream for outbound transmission
• On inbound transmission, converts the serial bit stream into the bytes that the computer handles
• Adds a parity bit (if it's been selected) on outbound transmissions and checks the parity of incoming bytes (if selected) and discards the parity bit
• Adds start and stop delineators on outbound and strips them from inbound transmissions
• Handles interrupts from the keyboard and mouse (which are serial devices with special ports)
• May handle other kinds of interrupt and device management that require coordinating the computer's speed of operation with device speeds