(1) In
DOS systems, the
name of a
serial communications port. DOS
supports four
serial ports:
COM1, COM2, COM3, and
COM4. However, most software uses system interrupts to access the serial ports, and there are only two IRQ lines reserved. This means that the four COM ports share the same two
IRQ lines. Typically, COM1 and COM3 use IRQ4, while COM2 and COM4 use IRQ3. So in general, if you have two
devices, one of which is attached to COM1 and the other to COM3, you cannot use them simultaneously.
Also see the list of IRQ numbers in the Quick Reference section of Webopedia.
(2) Abbreviation of Component Object Model.
