I think these things come in waves; this week we've had first-time posters who are developing their own OPC Servers and their own SCADA, and just in October we've had posts seeking to build their own PLC and their own VFDs from components.
Flash, Modbus is the simplest and most common serial protocol in the industry. Start at Modbus.org to learn about it.
There are hundreds of "SCADA" software packages. Some of them are very low cost or even free.
There are quite a few Modbus libraries for various programming languages, both on embedded and PC-based platforms.
I very strongly recommend that you evaluate commercial and open-source software libraries for your needs.
If you can explain what sort of task you are trying to accomplish, I'm sure the Forum has members who can help guide you in more detail.