What are serial ports and parallel ports?

What are serial ports and parallel ports?

A serial port is capable of delivering the single stream of data. While a parallel port is capable of delivering multiple streams of data. 5. Serial port send a bit after another bite at a time. While parallel ports send multiple bits at once.

Are serial and parallel ports still used?

Today, the parallel port interface is virtually non-existent in new computers because of the rise of Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices, along with network printing using Ethernet and Wi-Fi connected printers.

Can USB be used as parallel COM port?

You can connect your parallel printer to a USB port via a USB-to-parallel printer adapter, such as the one from Keyspan. This six-foot cable has a USB connector on one end and a Centronics connector on the other. Furthermore, it’s IEEE-1284 1994 compatible, which means that it provides a bi-directional interface.

What devices use serial ports?

Serial ports are also used to connect equipment together, e.g. modems of one type or another (PSTN, 3G, satellite), GPS units, telescopes, sensors, power inverters, and many type of industrial control equipment.

What devices still use serial ports?

However, serial ports are still frequently used in applications demanding simple, low-speed interfaces, such as industrial automation systems, scientific instruments, point of sale systems and some industrial and consumer products.

Is USB connection parallel or serial?

Thus a parallel port transmits data much faster than a serial port. Computers have both serial and parallel ports along with newer technology called a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port.

Which devices use parallel ports?

Parallel ports can be used to connect a host of popular computer peripherals:

  • Printers.
  • Scanners.
  • CD burners.
  • External hard drives.
  • Iomega Zip removable drives.
  • Network adapters.
  • Tape backup drives.

What is parallel port used for?

A parallel port is an interface allowing a personal computer (PC) to transmit or receive data down multiple bundled cables to a peripheral device such as a printer. The most common parallel port is a printer port known as the Centronics port.