how to get serial data to wait until a certain length is reached

Question

I have a code that loops through 2 different serial inputs on the arduino mega, and sends them to serial constantly:

int RFIDResetPin = 13;


void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial1.begin(9600);
  Serial2.begin(9600);
  pinMode(RFIDResetPin, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(RFIDResetPin, HIGH);
}

void loop() {

  char tagString1[13];
  int index = 0;
  boolean reading1 = false;
  boolean reading2 = false;
  ///////////////////////////////////////
  //this reads from the reader installed
  //on serial1, which is pin 19
  //////////////////////////////////////
  while (Serial1.available() > 0) {

    int readByte1 = Serial1.read(); //read next available byte

    if (readByte1 == 2) reading1 = true;
    if (readByte1 == 3) reading1 = false;

    if (reading1 && readByte1 != 2 && readByte1 != 10 && readByte1 != 13) {
      tagString1[index] = readByte1;
      index++;
    }
  }
  Serial.println(String("Reader 7: ") + tagString1); //the tag itself

delay(1);
  clearTag(tagString1); //Clear the char of all value
  resetReader(); //reset the RFID reader
  //////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // This bit reads from serial2, located on pin 17
  /////////////////////////////////////////////////
  while (Serial2.available() > 0) {

    int readByte2 = Serial2.read();

    if (readByte2 == 2) reading2 = true;
    if (readByte2 == 3) reading2 = false;

    if (reading2 && readByte2 != 2 && readByte2 != 10 && readByte2 != 13) {
      tagString1[index] = readByte2;
      index++;
    }
  }
  Serial.println(String("Reader 8: ") + tagString1);

  clearTag(tagString1);
  resetReader();
}




void resetReader() {
  ///////////////////////////////////
  //Reset the RFID reader to read again.
  ///////////////////////////////////
  digitalWrite(RFIDResetPin, LOW);
  digitalWrite(RFIDResetPin, HIGH);
  delay(150);
}

void clearTag(char one[]) {
  ///////////////////////////////////
  //clear the char array by filling with null – ASCII 0
  //Will think same tag has been read otherwise
  ///////////////////////////////////
  for (int i = 0; i < strlen(one); i++) {
    one[i] = 0;
  }
}

when not scanning anything, the serial monitor outputs this:

Reader 1:
Reader 2:
Reader 1:
Reader 2:

When I scan a tag, lets say on reader 1, I get this:

Reader 1: 000004f5
Reader 2:
Reader 1: 000004f5
Reader 2:

it is not possible to scan more than a single scanner at a time. Is it possible to get the first line to wait until a certain number of characters have been scanned (indicating a tag has been scanned), and then output to the serial monitor?After that initial run, the code will loop as I showed above. any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

I would use a programming concept called a state machine. For example an integer variable called State could be used to track the current status which could for example be WAITING_FOR_DATA or RECEIVING_DATA or DATA_COMPLETE and only print when DATA_COMPLETE. I'm sure there are plenty of examples you could find with an appropriate search.

Answer 2

1.prefer using Serial.readStringUntil(); OR Serial.readString() that way its much easy to manipulate.

2.use a static variable in loop function which stores the string or use a global variable to save char array tagString1 before going in println function same goes with the second reader that way the println will show the previous scan until a new scan is not done.

3.print both the tagstrings in the end of the code one after another