Resetting a com port

[JLS Steff]

Linux Box, running a Digi PCI (8 port board)

I have installed Sun comm.api to manage my Digi serial device. Everything works. However, when I remove the file ....../lib/ext/comm.jar, the process continues to work. Without this .jar, I expected the port to stop working.

My question: once you have set the serial port in a Java session, does the port remain set? Should I be "clearing" or resetting the port at the end of each session?

Any ideas??