Serial port requiring programs to refer to them by hardware address. Unix-like operating systems usually label the serial port devices /dev/tty*. "TTY" is a common trademark-free abbreviation for "teletype", a device commonly attached to early computers' serial ports, and * represents a string identifying the specific port; the syntax of that string depends on the operating system and the device. On Linux, 8250/16550 UART hardware serial ports are named /dev/ttyS*, USB adapters appear as /dev/ttyUSB* and various types of virtual serial ports do not necessarily have names starting with tty. The DOS and Windows environments refer to serial ports as COM ports:
Serial port of the full standard: they traded off compatibility with the standard against the use of less costly and more compact connectors (in particular the DE-9 version used by the original IBM PC-AT). The desire to supply serial interface cards with two ports required that IBM reduce the size of the connector to fit onto a single card back panel. A DE-9 connector also fits onto a card with a second DB-25 connector. Starting around the time of the introduction of the IBM PC-AT, serial ports were commonly built with a 9-pin connector to save cost and space. However, presence of