[comp.sys.amiga] Another serial question

gt4785b@pyr.gatech.EDU (CARTER) (12/06/87)

Is it possible to have a block of data shipped to the serial port in a
   similar manner as for the audio?  (where you specify a big block of ram,
   set pointers and bytes/second, and the hardware does the rest).
If so, will the memory fetches steal any processor time?
And then how about the reverse- serial directly into memory?  (let's say
   given that data is coming in nonstop at whatever bit rate).

David Carter

dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU (Matt Dillon) (12/06/87)

>Is it possible to have a block of data shipped to the serial port in a
>   similar manner as for the audio?  (where you specify a big block of ram,
>   set pointers and bytes/second, and the hardware does the rest).
>If so, will the memory fetches steal any processor time?
.And then how about the reverse- serial directly into memory?  (let's say
>   given that data is coming in nonstop at whatever bit rate).
>
>David Carter

	You can give the serial.device an arbitrary block and say go, but
the serial device uses interrupts (interrupt per character) to send the data as
well as to receive the data.   The overhead depends on the baud rate, but
doesn't slow down the computer all that much (I can still do compiles in other
windows, etc...)

						-Matt