USB Complete: Everything You Need to Develop Custom USB Peripherals

by Jan Axelson

In USB Complete, Jan Axelson once again reveals the programming secrets for a popular interface. The topic this time is the new Universal Serial Bus (USB), which was designed from the ground up to provide a single, easy-to-use interface for multiple peripherals. But this ease of use has come at the cost of greater complexity for the developers who design USB peripherals and write the program code that communicates with them. Jan takes the pain out of designing for USB by showing how to write applications that communicate with USB devices using Visual Basic (or any programming language that can call Win32 API functions). There's no need to write low-level device drivers; you can use the drivers included with Windows 98/2000. Unlike other books that only rehash specifications and manufacturers' marketing materials, this book has original examples, hands-on guidance, and practical tips that developers can put to use right away. USB Complete is an independent guide that isn't obligated to promote one manufacturer's products. This book will help you decide whether or not USB is the right choice for a peripheral. You'll find tips on selecting the controller chip that matches your design's needs and enables you to get your peripheral up and running quickly. An example project shows how to develop a custom USB peripheral from start to finish, including device firmware and application programming . As in her previous best-selling Serial Port Complete and Parallel Port Complete, Jan's simple, direct style and attention to detail help make a complex topic understandable.

Genres: Computers, Reference

396 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Janet Louise Axelson is an American author and conservationist. She writes and publishes technical literature and documentation under the pen name Jan Axelson. Much of her work relates to computer interfaces and protocols, including USB, Ethernet, serial, and parallel ports. Her books are published by her company Lakeview Research, LLC, which is based in Madison, Wisconsin. She has also written articles for Nuts and Volts, and the Wisconsin State Journal.
Axelson is the president of Friends of Cherokee Marsh, a volunteer conservation organization based in Madison, Wisconsin that protects and restores the Cherokee Marsh wetland area, an ecologically significant part of the Yahara River watershed.

Reviews

[Kaspars Laizans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Windows driver part might be a bit dated, but standard is generally still relevant and basics are explained reasonably well.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is the definitive guide to doing anything technical with USB. The author does a good job with a very hard subject...but it's not 'light reading' by any means.