add javax.comm API on a mac

Question

I would like make an java app that communicates with a serial device(handheld scanner) so that the app is platform independent. I have found a few code examples, and when I

Answer 1

This is the Java Communications API. You can get it here but it won't help you. The supported platforms are Solaris SPARC, Solaris x86, and Linux x86.

For Mac and Linux, if the serial port is already configured, you can open /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyS1, /dev/ttyS2, etc. as a file and read/write to it. On Windows, if the serial port is already configured you can open "COM1", "COM2", etc. and read and write to it.

Unfortunately, javax.comm (as provided in the reference implementation) isn't cross-platform, so you'll have to either resort to bundling additional native libraries and supporting classes or use a platform-dependent way to configure the serial port. On Windows, this could be the "mode" command, and on Mac/Linux, this could be the stty command.

Answer 2

I would recommend RXTX. It doesn't use the javax.comm package, but it follows the same API (with some helpful additions).

E1: As it turns out, RXTX 2.0 does use the javax.comm package. You can find it on the same download page.