Serial CHOP

Summary

The Serial CHOP is used for serial communication through an external port, using the RS-232 protocol. These ports are usually a 9 pin connector, or a USB port on new machines. (Using a USB port requires a USB-to-serial adaptor and driver.) All of a computer's available serial ports can be found in the Device Manager under the Windows operating system. Their names begin with 'COM'. Example: COM1, COM2, COM3, etc.

This CHOP monitors changes in its input channels, and sends the corresponding script through the serial connection. Any ASCII numeric digits '0'..'9' that are received, are stored and reflected in the output channel named 'return'.

When you need to receive more complex data, other than simple ASCII numbers use the Serial DAT.

See also Serial DAT, serialDAT_Class, Arduino.

serialCHOP_Class

Parameters - Port Page

Active active - This check box enables the serial connection.

State state - ⊞ - The type of input transition to monitor.

• Off to On offtoon -

• While On on -

• On to Off ontooff -

• While Off off -

• Value Change valuechange -

Port port - ⊞ - Selects the COM port that the serial connection will use.

• COM3 com3 -

Baud Rate baudrate - The maximum number of bits of information, including "control" bits, that are transmitted per second. Check your input device's default baud rate and set accordingly.

Baud Rate Menu baudmenu - ⊞ - Use this menu to select from some commonly used baud rates.

• 1200 1200 -

• 2400 2400 -

• 9600 9600 -

• 19200 19200 -

• 38400 38400 -

• 57600 57600 -

• 115200 115200 -

• 230400 230400 -

• 460800 460800 -

• 921600 921600 -

• 1382400 1382400 -

Data Bits databits - ⊞ - This parameter sets the number of data bits sent in each. Data bits are transmitted "backwards". Backwards refers to the order of transmission, which is from least significant bit (LSB) to most significant bit (MSB). To interpret the data bits, you must read from right to left.

• 6 6 -

• 7 7 -

• 8 8 -

• 9 9 -

Parity parity - ⊞ - This parameter can be set to none, even, or odd. The optional parity bit follows the data bits and is included as a simple means of error checking. Parity bits work by specifying ahead of time whether the parity of the transmission is to be even or odd. If the parity is set to be odd, the transmitter will then set the parity bit in such a way as to make an odd number of 1's among the data bits and the parity bit.

• Even even -

• Odd odd -

• None none -

Stop Bits stopbits - ⊞ - The last part of transmission packet consists of 1 or 2 Stop bits. The connection will now wait for the next Start bit.

• 1 1 -

• 2 2 -

Parameters - Scripts Page

Add more parameters as needed for additioanl scripts. These strings are sent out the serial port when the corresponding channel change is detected. For example, Script 2 is sent to the serial port when the third input channel goes from off to on. These scripts will also convert escape sequences like <CR> and \n for carriage returns and \r for line feed.

Script 0 script0 - Enter the script for Script 0 here.

Parameters - Common Page

Time Slice timeslice - Turning this on forces the channels to be "Time Sliced". A Time Slice is the time between the last cook frame and the current cook frame.

Scope scope - To determine which channels get affected, some CHOPs use a Scope string on the Common page.

Sample Rate Match srselect - ⊞ - Handle cases where multiple input CHOPs' sample rates are different. When Resampling occurs, the curves are interpolated according to the Interpolation Method Option, or "Linear" if the Interpolate Options are not available.

• Resample At First Input's Rate first - Use rate of first input to resample others.

• Resample At Maximum Rate max - Resample to the highest sample rate.

• Resample At Minimum Rate min - Resample to the lowest sample rate.

• Error If Rates Differ err - Doesn't accept conflicting sample rates.

Export Method exportmethod - ⊞ - This will determine how to connect the CHOP channel to the parameter. Refer to the Export article for more information.

• DAT Table by Index datindex - Uses the docked DAT table and references the channel via the index of the channel in the CHOP.

• DAT Table by Name datname - Uses the docked DAT table and references the channel via the name of the channel in the CHOP.

• Channel Name is Path:Parameter autoname - The channel is the full destination of where to export to, such has geo1/transform1:tx.

Export Root autoexportroot - This path points to the root node where all of the paths that exporting by Channel Name is Path:Parameter are relative to.

Export Table exporttable - The DAT used to hold the export information when using the DAT Table Export Methods (See above).

Operator Inputs

• Input 0 -

TouchDesigner Build: 2021.100002020.200002018.28070before 2018.28070

An Operator Family which operate on Channels (a series of numbers) which are used for animation, audio, mathematics, simulation, logic, UI construction, and many other applications.

A set of commands located in a Text DAT that are triggered to run under certain conditions. There are two scripting languages in TouchDesigner: Python and the original Tscript. Scripts and single-line commands can also be run in the Textport.

A Time Slice is the time from the last cook frame to the current cook frame. In CHOPs it is the set of short channels that only contain the CHOP channels' samples between the last and the current cook frame.

A parameter in most CHOPs that restricts which channels of that CHOP will be affected. Normally all channels of a CHOP are affected by the operator.

samples-per-second of a CHOP. Each CHOP in your network has a sample rate, whether it is used or not. The overall timeline has a "frame rate", which is the number of animation frames per second, generally your monitor display frequency.

Exporting is the connection of CHOP channels to parameters of operators. The output of each exporting CHOP is one or more channels, active only while the CHOP Viewer is on. The current value of a channel can be exported to a parameter of any operator, overriding that parameter's value. See Parameter.

An Operator Family that manipulates text strings: multi-line text or tables. Multi-line text is often a command Script, but can be any multi-line text. Tables are rows and columns of cells, each containing a text string.

The location of an operator within the TouchDesigner environment, for example, /geo1/circle1, a node called circle1 in a component called geo1. The path / is called Root. This path is displayed at the top of every Pane, showing which Component's network you are currently in. To refer instead to a filesystem folder, directory, disk file or http: address, see Folder.

Parameters in TouchDesigner are an operator's settings (numbers, menus, flags, strings, paths) which the user can alter. Parameters for any operator can be opened by right-clicking on the operator and selecting "Parameters..." A currently selected operator's parameters can be viewed in a Network Editor by pressing the keyboard shortcut 'p'.

TouchDesigner is a hierarchy of components. "root" is the top-most network in the hierarchy. The Path is simply /. A typical path is /project1/moviein1.