User`s guide

USB Host

PC, Mobile, etc.

Host OS

CDC

Driver

HID

Driver

MSC

Driver

User Applications

Windows

Linux

MacOS

www.ti.com

Software

3.4 Host Software, and the Java HID Demo App

The kernel-level host drivers for CDC, HID, and MSC are already present within the common host

operating systems (Windows™, Mac OS X™, and Linux

). But the developer must identify or create an

application on the host that interfaces with the USB device.

Figure 5. USB Host Software

Writing host software for CDC and MSC interfaces is very straightforward, because they present interfaces

to the host that are very commonly understood: virtual COM ports and storage volumes. These interfaces

are not specific to USB, and resources on writing code for them are very easy to find.

HID interfaces are different, because they are more specific to USB. Some HID interfaces are actually PC

peripherals that the host operating system itself interacts with it directly, like a mouse or keyboard. These

do not need additional host software.

But sometimes HID interfaces are beneficial for general communication (like the MSP430 HID-Datapipe

interface). Writing custom applications to talk with an HID interface can be slightly more complicated than

interfacing with a COM port or storage volume. For this reason, TI provides the Java HID Demo App (see

Figure 6). This application is provided as both a source code example and an executable that serves as a

utility. Because it is written in Java, it is meant to be extendable across multiple host platforms.

Figure 6. Java HID Demo App

SLAA457A–September 2013–Revised May 2014 Starting a USB Design Using MSP430™ MCUs

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