VIRTUAL SERIAL PORT - USB-library

[rainer]

It will be very helpful when USB-PICs (18Fxxxx) will not only work with this permanently problematic HID library.


If the PIC could appear as a "virtual serial port", it would be much easier to implement on the HOST side. When the PIC device is connected to USB, it will appear as a serial port then, and almost every OS I know will be able to support it by default and exchange data with it through normal programs, while this HID unnecessarily enforces to write a program on the host side!
On UNIX it will even allow to use it from a shell script and other simple tools!

Instead, there is currently only this problematic HID library, requireing a lot of programming on the host side. And MikroE - as usual - still only supports Windows.

I pleased MikroE (zristic) for the "virtual serial port" library at least one year ago in private mails, but nothing happened until today. Because a new project arises where I will need exactly this feature, I ask now again. It is really sad that nothing happened until today.

[piort]

hi rainer,
when i need usb without the all prob you describe, i use this chip :
http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/FT232R.htm
they event give the driver for it )))
hth a bit

[rainer]

Hi, piort!

The goal is to not need additional hardware.

This chip requires not only space, it also rises the costs of the layout, hardware, .... Also, this are fine-pitch SMDs, therefore it is really problematic to solder them onto mainboards without soldering mask without getting shorts.

Hope I could explain how much easier it is to simply connect a USB connector directly to a PIC with two wires. Why should I use additional hardware, if a PIC with embedded USB surely can do the same with a bit of software? All what I need is a library which surely is interesting to many users of MikroPascal, and everything is done.

[zristic]

This library would certainly use an interrupt and it is therefore out of question for being implemented by mE. Interrupts in libraries is something we want to avoid, not because it is wrong to do it, but because it makes it difficult to distribute such library.

However, it may be done as an example, but at the moment we are really too busy to deal with it. Maybe some of advanced forum users may do it, but beware that such codes are difficult to find for free.

[rainer]

Dear zristic,

thank you for this information. It will still be better to have a working example than nothing, as the HID is really too problematic. Currently the number of PICs with USB is really limited, so it surely will be not such dramatic at all, even if the library is not as elegant as it could/should be.

Maybe it will be an idea to build a library which supplies all functions plus an example interrupt procedure of how to use it?

From my personal point of view I find a implementation of a Virtual Serial Port, even if it does not support high baudrates, much more useful than a HID interface.

[zristic]

Maybe it will be an idea to build a library which supplies all functions plus an example interrupt procedure of how to use it?

Sure, be my guest.

[ping-]

I too would like to see a library (or an example) for this, as the HID stuff just isnt good enough for what i need..

Unfortunally, im not skilled enough to do that yet, so if anyone could do it, it would be awesome! :)

[Dany]

Hi, perhaps this can help:
http://www.mikroe.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 1&start=22