gistfile1.txt

//This code works. 
ofSerial serial; 
int sensorPadValue; 

void ofApp::setup(){ 
//this is the strange line. If I don't explicity call the ofSerial construtor all hell breaks loose. The error is Thread 1: EXC_BAD_ACCESS//(code=1, address 0xffffff4).   
  
    serial = new ofSerial();
    serial->listDevices();
    serial->setup(0, 9600);
}



//--------------------------------------------------------------
void ofApp::update(){
    
    //This gets sent to arduino, calling for a new set of readings
    serial->writeByte('a');
    
    if(serial->available()){
        
        unsigned char bytesReturned[6]; //000 new line + null terminator
        
        //  memset(bytesReadString, 0, 3);
        memset(bytesReturned, 0, sizeof(bytesReturned));
        
        // This reads the data now that arduino is sending a response,
        serial->readBytes(bytesReturned, 5);
        //check the data to make sure the new line isn't doing weird stuff
        
        string serialData = (char*) bytesReturned;
        sensorPadValue = ofToInt(serialData);
        cout << sensorPadValue << endl;
        //This was allows for the whole process to repeat without
        // getting strange overlapping readings from the encoder:
        serial->flush();
    }