Net Terms

Serial

Serial means one event at a time.  It is usually contrasted with 
parallel, which means more than one event at a time.  In the context of 
computer hardware and data transmission, serial connection, operation 
and media usually indicate a simpler, slower operation.

Conventional computers and their programs operate in a serial manner, 
with the computer reading a program and performing its instructions one 
after the other.  For instance, because your mouse and keyboard are 
devices that send (but do not receive) information, they only require 
a serial interface and line.