Arduino: Unwanted delay & "0" after Serial.parseInt

Swamp Thing · Dec 21, 2023

This Arduino sketch is supposed to wait for a number and then print it back with a message. But for some reason its gets an extra "0" from the TTY each time I actually type a number. There is about half second delay before the "0" is responded to.

Code:

int num;
void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
Serial.begin(115200);
}

void loop() {
Serial.print("Enter a number: ");
while(Serial.available()==0){}
num=Serial.parseInt();
//Serial.parseInt();           //    <----  Tried reading and discarding the "0". Well, that works -- but the delay remains.
Serial.println(num);
Serial.print("Your number is: ");
Serial.println(num);
Serial.println("=====\n");
}

Here is what happens in the TTY:

Code:

Your number is: 1
=====

Enter a number: 0
Your number is: 0
=====

Enter a number: 22
Your number is: 22
=====

Enter a number: 0
Your number is: 0
=====

Enter a number:

I can read and discard the "0" as per the commented line #11 --- but that doesn't remove the small delay.

How can I get rid of the extra delay?

jack action · Dec 21, 2023

I think it has to do with this:

https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/language/functions/communication/serial/parseint/ said:

Parsing stops when no characters have been read for a configurable time-out value, or a non-digit is read;

If no valid digits were read when the time-out (see Serial.setTimeout()) occurs, 0 is returned;

I'm not familiar with Arduino, but while(Serial.available()==0){} seems to be a weird statement. An if(Serial.available()>0) seems to be more appropriate somewhere inside a loop.

FactChecker · Dec 21, 2023

I'm not familiar with Arduino Serial.available. Do you enter a carriage return after the number and is it handling a carriage return as you expect?

Swamp Thing · Dec 21, 2023

If I put a LF, CR, or CR+LF or even any non-numeric like "Q" at the end, then the response is immediate ("Your number is 125"). This is followed by a delay before prompting for the next input. The "0" thing does not happen in this case. So it doesn't seem to care whether the number is terminated by a CR, CRLF or something else -- it just responds to the numeric part BUT delays the prompt for the next number. This would be the acceptable option if the delay didn't matter. But I will be having Python talking to the Arduino at some stage, and the delays wouldn't be nice then.

If I don't put any terminating character, the delay happens before the response. After the required response it asks for the next input right away, gets a "0" and responds to that, and finally asks for the next actual input. This would also be somewhat acceptable for manual interaction if we added the read-and-discard line, but not so good for programmatic data exchange.

I think I will try inputting the number as a string and then converting it to integer. I will post back later how this works out.

Tom.G · Dec 22, 2023

If the input device is an actual TTY (TeleType machine), try cleaning the commutator (serializer) in it. Also check for dirty or intermittents in the connecting cables between there and the computer.

Swamp Thing · Dec 22, 2023

It's just a virtual TTY window within the Arduino IDE

Maybe TTY is a misnomer here, my bad.

The connection is actually via USB and gets converted to plain vanilla serial lines in an IC on the Arduino PCB.

Tom.G · Dec 22, 2023

OK. I would suspect the extra Zero may be sent by the transmitting device then, perhaps as an End-Of-Message character. Is there any way of checking; perhaps in assembly language?

Cheers,
Tom

Swamp Thing · Dec 22, 2023

Just found these lessons -- maybe the right method is explained here. I'll update after watching and trying his tips.

Using an Arduino with Python LESSON 1: Introduction, Prerequisites and Class Gear

Swamp Thing · Dec 22, 2023

Based on the video...
The key point is to use Serial.readStringUntil('\r') which waits for a CR.

jack action said:

but while(Serial.available()==0){} seems to be a weird statement. An if(Serial.available()>0) seems to be more appropriate somewhere inside a loop.

The video also uses while which is funny, given that's it's already within a polling loop.
Based on jack action's suggestion I changed it to an if.

So this is the code that works nicely without the delay and the "0" thing...

Code:

String cmd;

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(13,OUTPUT);
Serial.println("Waiting for Input...");

}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

//while(Serial.available()==0){}   // blocks the polling loop --- bad!
if(Serial.available())        // won't block the loop (thanks, jack action!)
{

    cmd=Serial.readStringUntil('\r');
    Serial.println(cmd);
    if(cmd=="ON")
        {digitalWrite(13,HIGH);}
    else
        {digitalWrite(13,LOW);};

}

JT Smith · Dec 22, 2023

The parseInt() function has a timeout (which can be set). I guess it defaults to about half a second. When you enter a number and hit return you send a number plus some sort of line termination, probably CRLF. The parseInt() function handles the number part fine and then chokes for half a second on the non-numeric part.

You can kludge by adding this code right after the parseInt() call:

Code:

while (Serial.available()) Serial.read();

That will work okay as long as you are just a human typing at human speed. But a better method would be to read the characters into a buffer using Serial.read() and then parse the buffer.

Then again, for a simple sketch it's often the case that a quick and dirty solution actually is better since it will save you a lot of time. But it might be instructive to learn to do it the "proper" way.

Good luck!

Arduino: Unwanted delay & "0" after Serial.parseInt

Using an Arduino with Python LESSON 1: Introduction, Prerequisites and Class Gear

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