Overview
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.
Axelson 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, Axelson's simple, direct style and attention to detail help make a complex topic understandable.
Editorials
Nuts & Volts
A very detailed discussion of USB and how to develop custom USB peripherals.PC Magazine
A seminal book on the subject.Karl W. Pfalzer
Axelson did a great job of presenting the difficult topic of USB peripheral development. With her depth of knowledge, she leaves the reader with a sense of knowing enough about USB to actually do related design work.(Karl W. Pfalzer, enterprise-zone.com)