Function Drivers

Name 

Description 

Communication Device Class (CDC) 

The Communication Device Class (CDC) is a USB defined class for communication device. These typically include devices like USB to Serial converters, Modems, USB to Ethernet dongles, etc.

For more information about CDC class devices, please see the following documents:

• AN956 - "Migrating Applications to USB from RS-232 UART with Minimal Impact on PC Software" - This document is located in the "<Install Directory>\Microchip\USB\Documentation" folder
• www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/CDC1.2_WMC1.1.zip

 

Human Interface Device (HID) 

The Human Interface Device (HID) class include devices like mice, keyboards, joysticks, game controllers, etc. These devices provide input (and in some cases feedback) providing a user interface to the computer. The HID class can also be used to create custom devices that don't fall into the typical human interface usage model. Examples of both standard devices and custom HID devices are provided in this framework.
The HID driver is found in nearly all operating systems and requires no driver installation on most systems.
For more information about HID class devices, please see the following sources:

• http://www.usb.org/developers/hidpage

 

Mass Storage Device (MSD) 

Mass Storage Device (MSD) class are devices that appear like drives when plugged into a host. Examples of these types of devices are thumbdrives (memory sticks), external USB hard disks, or external USB CD drives.
MSD drivers can be found in nearly all operating systems and requires no driver installation on most systems.
This framework includes several examples examples of MSD examples using different physical storage media. The MSD implementation in this release uses the Microchip Memory Disk (MDD) File System as the physical layer.
For more information about MSD class devices, please see the following sources:

• http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/usb_msc_overview_1.2.pdf
• http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/usbmassbulk_10.pdf
• http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/AppNotes/01189a.pdf... more 

Vendor Class 

Vendor Class function drivers are drivers are custom drivers who's functionality is not defined by the USB specification. Examples of vendor class drivers include MCHPUSB (Microchip's custom class driver), WinUSB (provided by Microsoft), and LibUSB (an open source driver).