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--- arduino:arduino_crash_course:serial_communication [2012/09/14 01:18] – created mithat
+++ arduino:arduino_crash_course:serial_communication [2012/11/03 21:47] – mithat
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Serial Communication ======
+Serial communication is a two-way stream of text characters that is communicated over a **serial port**. It is one way to let the Arduino board (called the **target**) communicate with the computer you are using to develop Arduino programs (called the **development host** or just **host**).
+Serial communication is often used to make the Arduino report back to the host the value of the program's variables or other information as the program is running. This can be of great value when you are trying to debug programs.
 ===== Switch controlled LED with serial reporting =====
+The following is the [[arduino:arduino_crash_course:basic_interaction#using_internal_pullups|switch-controlled LED]] example modifed to report the state of the pushbutton back to the host computer.
+Once you have uploaded the program to the Arduino and it is running, open the serial monitor using the IDE's //Tools > Serial Monitor// menu item. Notice the values that are reported in the Serial Monitor window when you press and unpress the switch.
 <file c LightSwitchMonitored.ino>
 /*
@@ Line 7: / Line 16: @@
  Turn an LED on and off and send switch state to serial monitor
  */
 int pushButtonPin = 2;  // connect the push button to digital pin 2
 int ledPin = 13;        // connect the LED to pin 13
 void setup() {
   Serial.begin(9600);  // initialize serial communication at 9600 bits/second
@@ Line 22: / Line 31: @@
 void loop() {
   int buttonState = digitalRead(pushButtonPin);  // read the input pin
   // set LED state accordingly
   if (buttonState == LOW)         // if the button is pushed
@@ Line 28: / Line 37: @@
   else                            // otherwise
     digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);    // turn the LED off
   Serial.println(buttonState);    // print out state of button
   delay(500);                     // delay between reads
 }
 </file>
+The official Arduino [[http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/Serial|Serial]] reference material.