Linux serial terminal

Serial port communication in linux (with usb->serial converter in mind).

IMHO best is good old screen

screen /dev/ttyUSB0 115200

Problem can appear after device (e.g. ttyUSB0) is created only for root.
udev rule has to be set. Add new file e.g. 99-local.rules to /etc/udev/rules.d directory:

# Locally defined rules.
# Give world read/write access to ttyS* and ttyUSB* serial devices
#
KERNEL=="tty[A-Z]*", GROUP="uucp", MODE="0666"

To see if usb to serial converter is working in linux "lsusb" can be used.
Access to usb possible due to libusb.

References:
http://www.plugcomputer.org/plugwiki/index.php/Serial_terminal/Linux/Programs
http://www.libelle-systems.com/free/wine/serial_port_access.html
http://www.libusb.org/