LAST BRIDGE

A comprehensive serial communication solution consisting of two integrated applications:

LAST - Linux Advanced Serial Transceiver (GTK3 serial terminal)
BRIDGE - Virtual Null Modem Bridge (creates virtual serial devices)

✨ Features

LAST - Linux Advanced Serial Transceiver

🔍 Advanced Port Detection - Overcomes Linux limitations with comprehensive scanning
⚙️ Complete Serial Control - All parameters: baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits
📊 Dual Display Mode - Simultaneous text and hex data visualization with dynamic layout
📁 File Operations - Send files with line-by-line transmission and configurable delays
🎯 Programmable Macros - 16 customizable buttons for quick command transmission
📈 Real-time Statistics - Data counters, connection time, error tracking
🎛️ Control Signals - DTR, RTS, Break signal management
🎨 Professional GUI - Clean, intuitive GTK3 interface with flexible layout
🔗 BRIDGE Integration - Launch virtual null modem directly from menu

BRIDGE - Virtual Null Modem Bridge & Serial Sniffer

🔗 Virtual Device Creation - Creates paired virtual serial devices using socat
🕵️ Universal Serial Sniffing - Professional-grade serial data capture and analysis
📡 Multiple Output Methods - Named pipes, TCP sockets, UDP streams, file logging
🎯 Real-time Data Streaming - Live data feeds for external applications
🔍 Configurable Filtering - RX only, TX only, or bidirectional capture
📊 Multiple Data Formats - Raw binary, hex dump, or formatted text output
⚙️ Configurable Paths - Customize device paths (default: /tmp/ttyV0 ↔ /tmp/ttyV1)
🧪 Communication Testing - Built-in testing to verify device functionality
📊 Real-time Monitoring - Process health checking and status display
📝 Comprehensive Logging - Detailed operation logs with timestamps
💾 Settings Persistence - Configuration saved between sessions
🎨 Enhanced GUI - Organized interface with Configuration, Status, Settings, and Sniffing tabs
💻 Laptop-Friendly Design - Optimized landscape layout for smaller screens

🚀 Quick Start

One-Line Installation

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CFFinch62/LastBridge/main/deploy/install.sh | bash

Manual Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/CFFinch62/LastBridge.git
cd LastBridge

# Run the installer
./deploy/install.sh

Building from Source

# Install dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt-get install build-essential libgtk-3-dev socat pkg-config

# Build both applications
make

# Run applications
./LAST/last
./BRIDGE/bridge

Integration Workflow

Start BRIDGE: Launch and create virtual devices
Start LAST: Use Tools → BRIDGE menu or run separately
Connect: In LAST, connect to /tmp/ttyV0 or /tmp/ttyV1
Test: Send data between virtual devices

🕵️ Serial Data Sniffing

BRIDGE now includes professional-grade serial data sniffing capabilities, making it a universal serial communication analyzer:

Sniffing Architecture

Device A ←→ /tmp/ttyDevice1 ←→ Enhanced BRIDGE ←→ /tmp/ttyDevice2 ←→ Device B
                                        ↓
                               Data Sniffing Layer
                                        ↓
                    ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
                    │  Multiple Output Streams        │
                    ├─────────────────────────────────┤
                    │ • Named Pipe: /tmp/bridge_sniff │
                    │ • TCP Socket: localhost:8888    │
                    │ • UDP Stream: 239.1.1.1:9999   │
                    │ • File Output: bridge_data.log  │
                    └─────────────────────────────────┘
                                        ↓
                          External Processing Applications

Use Cases

Marine Electronics: BBFF video data processing with LAST control
Protocol Analysis: Reverse engineer proprietary serial protocols
Device Debugging: Monitor communication between devices and software
Data Logging: Record serial sessions for offline analysis
Multi-app Integration: One device feeding multiple applications

Quick Sniffing Setup

Launch BRIDGE and go to the "Sniffing" tab
Enable sniffing and select output methods (TCP recommended)
Start the bridge and begin sniffing
Connect your devices to the virtual ports
Connect your analysis application to the sniffing output
Monitor real-time data flow

For detailed sniffing documentation, see BRIDGE/SNIFFING_GUIDE.md.

📋 System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Ubuntu 18.04+ / Debian 10+
Fedora 30+
Arch Linux
Other Linux distributions with GTK3

Dependencies

Runtime: GTK3 libraries, socat utility
Build: GCC, Make, GTK3 development headers, pkg-config

Hardware

Any Linux-compatible serial ports
USB-to-Serial adapters
Built-in serial ports
Virtual devices (created by BRIDGE)

🔧 Installation

Automatic Installation (Recommended)

# Download and run installer
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CFFinch62/LastBridge/main/deploy/install.sh | bash

# Or clone and install
git clone https://github.com/CFFinch62/LastBridge.git
cd LastBridge
./deploy/install.sh

Package Installation

# Download release package
wget https://github.com/CFFinch62/LastBridge/releases/latest/download/LastBridge-1.0.0.tar.gz

# Extract and install
tar -xzf LastBridge-1.0.0.tar.gz
cd LastBridge-1.0.0
./deploy/install.sh

Manual Build

# Install dependencies
sudo apt-get install build-essential libgtk-3-dev socat pkg-config

# Build
make clean && make

# Install (optional)
sudo make install

🎯 Usage Examples

Basic Serial Communication

Start LAST: last or find in applications menu
Refresh ports to detect available devices
Select port, configure parameters
Click Connect
Send/receive data in terminal

Virtual Null Modem Testing

Start BRIDGE: bridge
Configure device paths (default: /tmp/ttyV0, /tmp/ttyV1)
Click "Start Virtual Null Modem"
Start LAST (or use Tools → BRIDGE menu)
Connect to virtual devices for testing

File Operations

Send File: Use File menu in LAST to send files over serial
Save Data: Capture received data to files
Logging: Enable logging for session recording

🏗️ Architecture

Both applications follow a modular C architecture:

src/
├── common.h          # Shared includes and structures
├── main.c            # Application initialization
├── ui.c/.h           # GTK3 user interface
├── callbacks.c/.h    # Event handlers
├── settings.c/.h     # Configuration management
├── utils.c/.h        # Utility functions
└── [app-specific modules]

LAST Modules

serial.c/.h - Serial port operations and communication
file_ops.c/.h - File send/receive operations

BRIDGE Modules

nullmodem.c/.h - Virtual device management using socat

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Quick Contribution Guide

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
Make your changes and test thoroughly
Commit: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
Push: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

GTK3 development team for the excellent GUI framework
socat developers for the versatile networking tool
Linux serial subsystem maintainers
Open source community for inspiration and feedback

📞 Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions
Email: cffinch62@example.com

🔗 Links

Documentation: Wiki
Releases: GitHub Releases
Changelog: CHANGELOG.md

Made with ❤️ for the Linux community

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 29 Commits
.github		.github
BRIDGE		BRIDGE
LAST		LAST
deploy		deploy
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md

License

CFFinch62/LastBridge

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