Faking an RS232 Serial Port

Question

I\'m developing a project that has a number of hardware sensors connecting to the deployment machine through RS232 serial ports.

But ... I\'m developing on a machine

Answer 1

I know this is an old post, but in case someone else happens upon this question, one good option is Virtual Serial Port Emulator (VSPE) from Eterlogic It provides an API for creating kernel mode virtual comport devices, i.e. connectors, mappers, splitters etc.
However, some of the advertised capabilities were really not capabilities at all.

EDIT
A much better choice, Eltima. This product is fully baked. Good developer tech support. The product did all it claimed to do. Product options include both desktop applications, as well as software development kits with APIs.

Neither of these products are open source, or free. However, as other posts here have pointed out, there are other options. Here is a list of various serial utilities:

com0com (current)
com0com - With Signed Driver (old version)
Yet another place for com0com with Signed Driver (Pete's Blog)
Tactical Software
Termite
COM Port Serial Emulator
Kermit (obsolete, but still downloadable)
HWVSP3
HHD Software (free edition)