Universal USB Development Kit for Windows
Features Supported Platforms Demo Documentation Prices
USBIO V2.50 with Windows 7 support
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is supported in all current Windows operating systems. Drivers for USB host controllers and USB hubs are provided as part of the operating system, as are drivers for various standard USB devices.
Standard USB devices are those which belong to one of the device classes specified by the USB Implementers Forum, e.g. HID, CDC. Such devices are normally supported by class drivers already included in the operating system, and Windows applications communicate with standard devices using the appropriate software interfaces.
In many cases, a particular USB1.1 or USB2.0 device cannot be assigned to a device class because it has to fulfill different requirements, or because to implement the class specification in the device firmware is too time-consuming. This makes a custom USB device driver necessary, a kernel-mode driver which conforms to the Windows Driver Model (WDM). The WDM was introduced with Windows 98 and defines a uniform device driver architecture across all current Windows operating systems.
Developing a kernel-mode WDM driver is considerably different to developing Windows applications. It requires specialist knowledge in kernel-mode programming and a deep understanding of operating system internals. The development and debugging process can be very time-consuming, especially if the driver has to support different Windows versions (e.g. Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7). These device driver development efforts can be avoided using the USBIO Software Development Kit for Windows.
Thesycon also offers the Embedded USB Device Stack and the Embedded USB Host Stack for implementing the firmware of a USB device. With these development kits Thesycon provides the support for implementing the firmware and device driver for USB devices quickly and cost-effective.
The USB Device Driver USBIO
The development kit includes the generic device driver USBIO, which provides Win32 applications with direct access to USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices which are otherwise only accessible from kernel mode. It can be used with any kind of USB device, enabling application developers to control devices without having to develop a kernel-mode WDM driver. The USBIO driver provides an extensive programming interface based on standard Windows API functions such as ReadFile, WriteFile, and DeviceIoControl. It supports the complete USB functionality and is optimized for maximum efficiency. Data transfer to or from USB devices is very similar to standard Win32 file I/O operations.
The Win32 native USBIO programming interface is ideal for use in programming languages such as C and C++. The USBIO package includes a C++ class library, providing an easy-to-use interface. To support Java application development, a Java class library that is based on a JNI DLL is provided.
A high-level programming interface, the USBIO COM interface, is also available. This is based on Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM) technology and provides an extension to the native USBIO programming interface. The COM interface allows the easy integration of USB functionality into Visual Basic, Delphi and C# applications.
Several source code examples demonstrate usage of the programming interfaces and show how an application controls a USB device.
The USBIO software components can be integrated into a final product with product-specific adaptations if necessary (e.g. file names, installation paths, copyright messages). The result is a customized version that can be shipped as part of an end user product.
Furthermore, the USBIO driver is very useful for developing, debugging, and testing USB devices and firmware. It enables rapid development of debug and test applications. The driver package includes the source code of an extensive test application.
USBIO Features
- Supports USB 1.1 and USB 2.0
- Supports low-speed, full-speed, and high-speed mode
- Supports all USB transfer types: Bulk, Interrupt, Isochronous and Control
- Supports Windows 98, Windows Millennium (ME), Windows 2000, Windows XP x86 and x64, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP embedded, Windows Vista x86 and x64, Windows 7 x86 and x64
- Supports the full USB functionality as implemented in Windows
- Design and implementation complies with the Windows Driver Model (WDM). The driver is certified by Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) for Windows XP (32 bit and 64 bit), Windows Vista (32 bit and 64 bit) and Windows 7 (32 bit and 64 bit) operating systems.
- Supports Plug&Play and power management
- Supports Plug&Play notifications for applications
- Provides an interface to USB endpoints similar to Win32 file I/O interface
- Provides full support for asynchronous (overlapped) data transfer operations
- Supports multi-configuration and multi-interface devices
- Controls multiple USB devices at the same time
- Serves multiple applications at the same time
- Allows vendor- and product-specific adaptations
- Win32 programming interface for use in C, C++ and Java programs
- High-level, COM-based programming interface for use in Visual Basic, Delphi and .net based programs
- Installation Wizard allows quick and easy installation of the USBIO driver for any USB device
- Cleanup Wizard supports automated deinstallation of the driver
USBIO for Windows CE and Windows Mobile
A compatible USB driver is available for Windows CE and Windows Mobile.
Easy Installation
Using Thesycon’s PnP Driver Installer it is very easy to create a specific setup wizard that handles driver installation, un-installation and update in a comfortable and reliable way. For more information on PnP Driver Installer, check out http://www.thesycon.de/pnpinstaller.
Free Demo
USBIO Demo is time-limited but has full functionality. The device driver can be used for 4 hours. Then all function calls will be rejected and the computer must be rebooted in order to use the demo again. The demo package includes the USBIO device driver, the complete documentation and the source code of all programming examples.
Current Version: 2.50
Documentation
USBIO COM Interface Documentation 
Licensing Conditions and Prices
Licensing and Prices - English
USBIO Software License Agreement
Licensing - German
USBIO Lizenzbedingungen (Deutsch)
USB Vendor and Product ID
When designing a USB device you need an official USB vendor ID (VID) which is unique world-wide. Vendor ID's will be assigned by the USB Implementers Forum (www.usb.org). There is a fee of $1500 US.
Thesycon owns a USB vendor ID and provides a subset of product ID's (PID) to customers who licensed our USB software.
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