Whats the difference between EZ-Serial text and binary parse modes?

Vela IF820453-00171R453-00171C453-00171-K1453-00172R453-00172C453-00172-K1

Answer

The Vela IF820 is preloaded with EZ-Serial firmware which can be used in one of two modes

  • Text API
  • Binary API

Text mode API provides human readable commands that can be sent to the module over the UART, typically from a microcontroller or from a PC terminal program during development.

Commands take the form of short code, for example

  • /rbt          will reboot the module
  • /bti          will start a Bluetooth classic inquiry
  • /s             will start a scan for BLE adverts

The text mode API is particularly useful when first using EZ-Serial.

The binary mode API may be a better choice for production devices due to having a simpler parset/generator for the UART host. Binary mode uses a fixed packet structure for every transaction. Each packet is made up of the following

  • 4 byte header
  • optional payload
  • checksum byte

For example a command to get the GAP device name might look like this

C0 00 04 10 6D

and the response might look like this

C0 15 04 10 00 00 12 45 5A 2D 53 65 72 69 61 6C 20 31 41 3A 32 31 3A 44 33 A0 

The first four bytes are the header (command), the 00 00 represents success, the 12 45 5A 2D 53 65 72 69 61 6C 20 31 41 3A 32 31 3A 44 33 is the  returned name and the final byte is the checksum.