Name: open driver

Type: command

Syntax: open driver <driverName> [for [[<encoding>] text | binary] {update | read | write}]

Summary: Establishes a connection to a <peripheral device|device> so you can send data to it or get data from it.

Introduced: 1.1.1

OS: mac,windows,linux

Platforms: desktop,server,web

Security: disk

Example:
open driver "/dev/cu.modem" for binary write

Example:
open driver (line 3 of it) for text read

Example:
open driver "COM2:"

Parameters:
driverName: The driverName specifies the name of a device driver that's installed on the system.
encoding: 

The result: If the driver does not exist, the result <function> is set to "Can't open that file." On <OS X> and <Unix|Unix systems>, you can obtain a list of available <peripheral device|devices> by reading the file "/dev/tty".

Description:
Use the <open driver> <command> to communicate with USB <peripheral device|devices>, <peripheral device|devices> attached to a serial port other than the modem and printer port, and other <peripheral device|peripheral devices>.

If you don't specifyormode, the driver is opened in text mode. (For most devices, you should use binary mode.)

Use theform to open the driver for reading. If the driver is opened for reading, you can use the read from driver <command> to get data from the <peripheral device|device>, but you can't send data to it.

Use theorm to open the driver for writing. If the driver is opened for writing, you can use the <write to driver> <command> to send data to the <peripheral device|device> but you can't read from it.

Use theform to open the driver for both reading and writing. If the driver is opened for update, you can use both the read from driver and <write to driver> <command|commands> to send data to the <peripheral device|device> or get data from it.

>*Note:* On <Unix|Unix systems>, <peripheral device|devices> can be addressed as part of the file system. This means that on such systems, the following two <statement|statements> are equivalent:

>*Tip:* Because <OS X> is based on <Unix>, you can use the <open file> <command>, as mentioned above, as a replacement for <open driver> on <OS X|OS X systems>.

On Windows systems, the <open driver> <command> is equivalent to the <open file> <command> when the <driverName> is <COM1:>, <COM2:>, etc.

If the device is a serial port, you can set the serialControlString <property> to specify the speed, parity, and other settings. Set the <serialControlString> before using the <open driver> <command>.

References: serialControlString (property), recordInput (property), COM1: (keyword), COM2: (keyword), write to driver (command), open file (command), function (control_st), property (glossary), Unix (glossary), statement (glossary), command (glossary), peripheral device (glossary), OS X (glossary)

Tags: networking
