Note: This namespace is new in the .NET Framework version 2.0.

The System.IO.Ports namespace contains classes for controlling serial ports. The most important class, SerialPort, provides a framework for synchronous and event-driven I/O, access to pin and break states, and access to serial driver properties. It can be used to wrap a Stream objects, allowing the serial port to be accessed by classes that use streams.

The namespace includes enumerations that simplify the control of serial ports, such as Handshake, Parity, SerialPinChange, and StopBits.

 Classes

	Class	Description
	SerialDataReceivedEventArgs	Provides data for the DataReceived event.
	SerialErrorReceivedEventArgs	Prepares data for the ErrorReceived event.
	SerialPinChangedEventArgs	Provides data for the PinChanged event.
	SerialPort	Represents a serial port resource.

 Delegates

	Delegate	Description
	SerialDataReceivedEventHandler	Represents the method that will handle the DataReceived event of a SerialPort object.
	SerialErrorReceivedEventHandler	Represents the method that will handle the ErrorReceived event of a SerialPort object.
	SerialPinChangedEventHandler	Represents the method that will handle the PinChanged event of a SerialPort object.

 Enumerations

	Enumeration	Description
	Handshake	Specifies the control protocol used in establishing a serial port communication for a SerialPort object.
	Parity	Specifies the parity bit for a SerialPort object.
	SerialData	Specifies the type of character that was received on the serial port of the SerialPort object.
	SerialError	Specifies errors that occur on the SerialPort object
	SerialPinChange	Specifies the type of change that occurred on the SerialPort object.
	StopBits	Specifies the number of stop bits used on the SerialPort object.