UART

Hardware communication protocols

Feature/Protocol	I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit)	SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface)	UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter)	USART (Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter)	CAN bus (Controller Area Network)
Basic Function	A multi-master, multi-slave, packet switched, single-ended, serial computer bus.	A synchronous serial communication interface specification used for short-distance communication.	A serial communication protocol for asynchronous serial data communication.	A communication protocol that can be configured in either asynchronous or synchronous mode.	A robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other’s applications without a host computer.
Data Transfer Speed	Relatively slow (standard modes up to 400 Kbps, high-speed mode up to 3.4 Mbps).	Faster than I2C (up to tens of Mbps).	Lower speed compared to SPI and I2C (typical baud rates range from 9600 to 115200 bps).	Flexible, supports both UART speeds and higher synchronous speeds.	Moderate (up to 1 Mbps for shorter distances).
Complexity	Moderate (requires addressing, arbitration, and error checking).	Simple (but requires more I/O lines for multiple devices).	Simple (uses two wires for full-duplex communication).	More complex (combines features of UART with synchronous capabilities).	More complex due to robust error detection and handling features.
Number of Devices Supported	Supports multiple devices on the same bus (multi-master, multi-slave).	Supports multiple devices but requires additional lines per device (not suitable for very large networks).	Point-to-point communication between two devices.	Similar to UART but with additional synchronous mode capabilities.	Designed for large networks (up to 120 nodes).
Typical Use Cases	Used in embedded systems for sensor integration, RTC, EEPROM.	Commonly used for short-distance, high-speed communication in embedded systems.	Used in serial communication for PCs, sensors, and low-speed data transfer.	Used in applications that require both types of serial communication.	Primarily used in automotive applications for connecting sensors, actuators, and control units.

How these protocols work

Protocol	How It Works in Simple Terms
I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit)	Uses two wires (SCL for clock, SDA for data). Devices on the bus have addresses. When a device wants to talk, it uses the clock line to signal and sends/receives data on the data line.
SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface)	Uses at least three wires - one for the clock (SCK), one for master to slave data (MOSI), and one for slave to master data (MISO). A separate select line is used for each slave device.
UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter)	Uses two wires for data transmission (TX for transmitting, RX for receiving). Data is sent in a serial form, one bit at a time, without a clock signal to synchronize.
USART (Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter)	Works like UART but can also operate in a synchronous mode where data and clock signals are synchronized.
CAN bus (Controller Area Network)	Uses a two-wire bus (CAN_H and CAN_L) for communication. Devices on the network can send messages when the bus is free. Uses a priority system to manage conflicts when two devices transmit at the same time.