C# - Reading Serial Port values while processing another method

Question

I am completely new to C# and I have a pretty simple problem that I can't figure out. I am trying to improve an existing code that I don't fully understand.

My program connects to a device using the Serial port when pressing a "Connect" button :

 private void button_Connect_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        serialPort.PortName = (string)comboBox_SerialPorts.SelectedItem;
        serialPort.Open();
        serialPort.DataReceived += SerialPort_DataReceived;
    }

The method SerialPort_DataReceived handles the DataReceived event :

    public delegate void InvokeTreatment(byte[] buffer);
    private void SerialPort_DataReceived(object sender, SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
    {
        byte[] buffer = new byte[13];
        try
        {
            serialPort.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);

            byte tmp = 0;
            for (int i = 1; i < 11; i++)
                tmp += buffer[i];
            if ((buffer[11] == tmp) && (buffer[12] == '!'))
                try
                {
                    this.BeginInvoke(new InvokeTreatment(Treatment_UART), new object[] { buffer });
                }
                catch { }
        }
        catch { }
    }

The Treatment_UART is a function that uses the values from the Serial Port to display values on my interface.

private void Traitement_UART(byte[] buffer)

At this point, my program works correctly : It displays in real-time the values received from my Serial device.

I now want to do some processing in another method called "Processing" that starts when pressing a button (for example a long for loop that processes data received from the Serial device). My problem is that, during Processing execution, the real-time receiving and displaying of the Serial values is not anymore active. I need my program to keep receiving information from the Serial device during the execution of Processing.

There might be different ways to do that. I thought about running my function in another thread, or simply calling the "SerialPort_DataReceived" method inside my Processing method... How should I do that ? Maybe running Processing in another thread implies risks of reading incorrect (or not actualized) values from the Serial port ?

Thanks in advance!

You seem to have included the answer in your tags! Are you then asking for an example of running a method on a different string? — Capn Jack
I am asking which way is the best (calling the method inside Processing or using different thread) and maybe an example or hints on how to achieve that... — lilian
You're definitely going to need a new a thread for that. Your current thread is busy listening to your serial-port so it cannot complete any other tasks. I included an example for you in my answer below! — Capn Jack

Capn Jack Capn Jack · Accepted Answer · 2017-08-02T15:13:42

To multithread make sure you're using the using System.Threading; at the top then simply do this:

Thread thread = new Thread(yourFuntionHere(params));
thread.Start();

The thread will close itself after the method is complete, so no need to worry about that!

C# - Reading Serial Port values while processing another method

2 Answers