Serial Communication

Protocol (v2, being implemented)

extra bit for checksum + start code

start code should maybe allow for settings? like for [idk I used to have an idea for this one]

might need to slow down the rate just a bit

do the math to have a built-in rate limiter in both PYTHON and arduinio code!

or at least functionally. I don’t know if you’ll need the arduino side? I think python rate limit is all you’ll need.

Protocol (v1, being depreciated):

Example packet: b'\x01\x82\x02\x8b\x00\x7f\x00'

Bits in packet:

0: keyboard key state
1: keyboard key being pressed
2: x coord
3: x coord
4: y coord
5: y coord
6: mouse press/release

Bit #	Purpose
0	keyboard key state
1	keyboard key being pressed
2	x coord
3	x coord
4	y coord
5	y coord
6	mouse press/release
ㅤ	ㅤ

Use	Method
Keyboard key state	1 = press, 0 = release (I think)
Key being pressed	Denoted by numerical value: http://www.foreui.com/articles/Key_Code_Table.htm
Coordinates	The two 8-bit integers are converted to binary, then shifted by 8 bits to the left. They’re then combined using a logical OR operation. This results in a 16-bit number, where the first 8 bits come from the first number and the second 8 bits come from the second number. This is denoted by the “h” within `"!BBhhB"`
Mouse press/release	Each mouse button has its own ID (1,2,3,etc). The ID for a press is just the given (or otherwise transformed0 button ID, and the “release” ID is given ID+ `mouseLevelShift`. This allows us to just add 4 (for example) to `Button_ID_1`, and now 1 is press, 5 is release

Example implementation:

packet = pack("!BBhhB", key_state, key , x, y, mouse)
if serialComms: ser.write(packet)

Implementation as a function:


import serial.tools.list_ports
import serial
from struct import pack

from debug_settings import * #debug toggles

selected_port = "COM5" #show_port_menu()
print("Starting serial communication with:", selected_port)
if serialComms: ser = serial.Serial(selected_port, 19200)
#^or any other code to begin serial communication


def serial_send(key_state, key, x, y, mouse_state):
    packet = pack("!BBhhB", key_state, key, x, y, mouse_state)
    if serialComms and printSerial:
        ser.write(packet)
        print(packet)

Calling the function:

serial_send(key_state, key, mouse_position.x, mouse_position.y, mouse_button_state)

Example of proper keyboard output:

press: b'\x01a\x04\xe5\x00\x00\x00'
release: b'\x00a\x04\xe5\x00\x00\x00'

⭐ not case-sensitive