<P> In telecommunications, RS - 232, Recommended Standard 232 is a standard introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data . It formally defines the signals connecting between a DTE (data terminal equipment) such as a computer terminal, and a DCE (data circuit - terminating equipment or data communication equipment), such as a modem . The RS - 232 standard had been commonly used in computer serial ports . The standard defines the electrical characteristics and timing of signals, the meaning of signals, and the physical size and pinout of connectors . The current version of the standard is TIA - 232 - F Interface Between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit - Terminating Equipment Employing Serial Binary Data Interchange, issued in 1997 . </P> <P> An RS - 232 serial port was once a standard feature of a personal computer, used for connections to modems, printers, mice, data storage, uninterruptible power supplies, and other peripheral devices . RS - 232, when compared to later interfaces such as RS - 422, RS - 485 and Ethernet, has lower transmission speed, short maximum cable length, large voltage swing, large standard connectors, no multipoint capability and limited multidrop capability . In modern personal computers, USB has displaced RS - 232 from most of its peripheral interface roles . Many computers no longer come equipped with RS - 232 ports (although some motherboards come equipped with a COM port header that allows the user to install a bracket with a DE-9 port) and must use either an external USB - to - RS - 232 converter or an internal expansion card with one or more serial ports to connect to RS - 232 peripherals . Nevertheless, thanks to their simplicity and past ubiquity, RS - 232 interfaces are still used--particularly in industrial machines, networking equipment, and scientific instruments where a short - range, point - to - point, low - speed wired data connection is adequate . </P>

What is dte and dce in rs 232
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