microscrap/uart

Unix UART / Serial Bindings for The PHP Posi Extension

0.5.0 2026-07-06 19:19 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.3
• ext-posi: ^0.4.0
• microscrap/posix: ^0.5.0

MIT

• Angel Gonzalez

• framework
• scrapyard-io

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-07-06 19:33 UTC

README

PHP library that wraps the posi extension with global helpers, enums, and data objects. Every helper delegates to a facade class under Microscrap\Bindings\UART.

This project provides PHP bindings to the Linux POSIX termios serial-port API, mirroring the public surface of the POSIX <termios.h> / tcgetattr(2) / cfmakeraw(3) family.

Highlights

• Open a serial device (/dev/ttyUSB0, /dev/ttyAMA0, etc.) and configure it in one call
• Automatic raw-mode setup (cfmakeraw semantics) — no line buffering, no character processing
• Typed BaudRate enum covers the full speed_t range from B50 to B4000000
• Enum-typed termios flag sets for c_iflag, c_oflag, c_cflag, c_lflag, and c_cc
• Full termios attribute inspection and mutation via uart_tcgetattr / uart_tcsetattr
• Drain, flush, and flow control through uart_drain, uart_flush, uart_flow
• Thin global uart_* helper API — all functions are function_exists-guarded

Requirements

• PHP 8.3+
• Linux kernel (any modern version with /dev/tty* devices)
• ext-posi ^0.4.0 — install from php-io-extensions/posi
• microscrap/posix ^0.4.0

Installation

Confirm ext-posi is loaded:

php -m | grep posi

composer require microscrap/uart

Composer autoloads src/Helpers/uart-serial.php and src/Helpers/uart-termios.php, registering the global uart_* functions.

Usage

Serial I/O is controlled through global helper functions (uart_open, uart_write, uart_read, etc.). All helpers delegate to facade classes and are only defined once (function_exists guard).

Enums live under Microscrap\Bindings\UART\Enums. The port handle is Microscrap\Bindings\UART\DataObjects\UARTPort.

Example — send a command and read the response

<?php

use Microscrap\Bindings\UART\Enums\BaudRate;
use Microscrap\Bindings\UART\Enums\TermiosQueue;

// Open /dev/ttyUSB0 at 115200 baud, configured for raw byte I/O.
$port = uart_open('/dev/ttyUSB0', BaudRate::B115200);
if ($port === null) {
    exit("Failed to open port\n");
}

// Discard stale data before starting.
uart_flush($port, TermiosQueue::TCIOFLUSH);

// Send a command.
uart_write($port, "AT\r\n");

// Block until all bytes have been clocked out.
uart_drain($port);

// Wait briefly then read the response.
usleep(50_000);
$response = uart_read($port, 128);
echo "Response: " . trim($response) . "\n";

uart_close($port);

Example — manual termios configuration

<?php

use Microscrap\Bindings\UART\Enums\BaudRate;
use Microscrap\Bindings\UART\Enums\ControlChar;
use Microscrap\Bindings\UART\Enums\ControlFlag;
use Microscrap\Bindings\UART\Enums\TermiosAction;

$port = uart_open('/dev/ttyAMA0', BaudRate::B9600);

// Read, mutate, and reapply termios attributes.
$t = uart_tcgetattr($port);

// Enable hardware flow control.
$t['c_cflag'] |= ControlFlag::CRTSCTS->value;

// Require at least 4 bytes per read() call.
$t['c_cc'][ControlChar::VMIN->value] = 4;

uart_tcsetattr($port, $t, TermiosAction::TCSADRAIN);

uart_close($port);

API Reference

Serial port lifecycle

Helper	Facade method	Description
uart_open(string $path, BaudRate $baud)	Serial::uartOpen	Open and configure a port; returns UARTPort|null
uart_close(UARTPort $port)	Serial::uartClose	Close the file descriptor; returns 0 or -1
uart_read(UARTPort $port, int $bytes)	Serial::uartRead	Read up to $bytes bytes; returns string|false
uart_write(UARTPort $port, string $data)	Serial::uartWrite	Write $data; returns bytes written
uart_drain(UARTPort $port)	Serial::uartDrain	Block until TX FIFO is empty (tcdrain)
uart_flush(UARTPort $port, TermiosQueue $queue)	Serial::uartFlush	Discard queued I/O (tcflush)
uart_flow(UARTPort $port, TermiosFlow $action)	Serial::uartFlow	Suspend / resume I/O (tcflow)
uart_make_raw(array $termios)	Serial::makeRaw	Apply cfmakeraw semantics to a termios array

Termios attribute access

Helper	Facade method	Description
uart_tcgetattr(UARTPort $port)	Termios::uartTcgetattr	Read current attributes; returns array|false
uart_tcsetattr(UARTPort $port, array $t, TermiosAction $a)	Termios::uartTcsetattr	Apply attributes; returns 0 or -1
uart_cfsetispeed(array $t, BaudRate $baud)	Termios::uartCfsetispeed	Set input baud; returns new array|false
uart_cfsetospeed(array $t, BaudRate $baud)	Termios::uartCfsetospeed	Set output baud; returns new array|false
uart_cfgetispeed(array $t)	Termios::uartCfgetispeed	Decode input baud; returns BaudRate|null
uart_cfgetospeed(array $t)	Termios::uartCfgetospeed	Decode output baud; returns BaudRate|null

UARTPort data object

final readonly class UARTPort {
    public int     $fd;    // open file descriptor
    public string  $path;  // device path (/dev/ttyUSB0)
    public BaudRate $baud; // configured baud rate
}

Termios array format

uart_tcgetattr returns — and uart_tcsetattr / uart_cfset*speed consume — a plain PHP array:

[
    'c_iflag' => int,       // InputFlag bitmask
    'c_oflag' => int,       // OutputFlag bitmask
    'c_cflag' => int,       // ControlFlag bitmask (includes baud rate bits)
    'c_lflag' => int,       // LocalFlag bitmask
    'c_cc'    => int[],     // ControlChar indexed array (NCCS elements)
]

Enum quick reference

BaudRate

B0, B50, B75, B110, B134, B150, B200, B300, B600, B1200, B1800, B2400, B4800, B9600, B19200, B38400, B57600, B115200, B230400, B460800, B500000, B576000, B921600, B1000000, B1152000, B1500000, B2000000, B2500000, B3000000, B3500000, B4000000

TermiosAction

Case	Value	When settings take effect
TCSANOW	0	Immediately
TCSADRAIN	1	After all output is transmitted
TCSAFLUSH	2	After output drained and input discarded

TermiosQueue

Case	Value	What tcflush discards
TCIFLUSH	0	Received but unread input
TCOFLUSH	1	Written but untransmitted output
TCIOFLUSH	2	Both queues

TermiosFlow

Case	Value	Effect
TCOOFF	0	Suspend output
TCOON	1	Resume output
TCIOFF	2	Send STOP character to device
TCION	3	Send START character to device

InputFlag — c_iflag bits

IGNBRK, BRKINT, IGNPAR, PARMRK, INPCK, ISTRIP, INLCR, IGNCR, ICRNL, IUCLC, IXON, IXANY, IXOFF, IMAXBEL, IUTF8

OutputFlag — c_oflag bits

OPOST, OLCUC, ONLCR, OCRNL, ONOCR, ONLRET, OFILL, OFDEL

ControlFlag — c_cflag bits

CBAUD, CBAUDEX, CSIZE, CS5, CS6, CS7, CS8, CSTOPB, CREAD, PARENB, PARODD, HUPCL, CLOCAL, CRTSCTS

LocalFlag — c_lflag bits

ISIG, ICANON, XCASE, ECHO, ECHOE, ECHOK, ECHONL, NOFLSH, TOSTOP, ECHOCTL, ECHOPRT, ECHOKE, FLUSHO, PENDIN, IEXTEN, EXTPROC

ControlChar — c_cc indices

VINTR, VQUIT, VERASE, VKILL, VEOF, VTIME, VMIN, VSWTC, VSTART, VSTOP, VSUSP, VEOL, VREPRINT, VDISCARD, VWERASE, VLNEXT, VEOL2

Notes on uart_open defaults

uart_open applies the following configuration automatically:

• O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY — read/write access; device does not become the controlling terminal
• cfmakeraw semantics — no input/output processing, 8N1, no parity
• VMIN=1, VTIME=0 — read() blocks until at least one byte arrives
• TCSANOW — settings applied immediately

To override any of these defaults, call uart_tcgetattr, mutate the returned array with the flag enums, and reapply with uart_tcsetattr.