USB Design by Example: A Practical Guide to Building I/O Devices (2nd Edition)
This unique guide goes beyond all the Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification overviews to provide you with the expert knowledge and skills you need to design and implement USB I/O devices. It is organized around a series of fully documented, real-world examples, and is structured to serve as both a step-by-step guide for creating specific devices and a complete reference to USB. Design examples cover most USB classes (HID, communications, audio, mass-storage and hub) and provide insights into high-speed USB 2.0 devices, including a definition and a device driver for a vendor class, called blockio.
Intel insider John Hyde:
- Provides examples, complete with schematics and source code, that gradually increase in complexity
- Describes many vendor solutions and shows how to pick the ones best suited to your project needs
- Explains how to design a vast array of devices, including data acquisition, audio, video and computer-telephony examples
- Source code and project files for all the examples in the book (PC Host and I/O device)
- Evaluation versions of design and debug tools
- The USB specification and supporting class and test documents
- Categorized links to other USB solution suppliers
Why Read This Book
You will get a hands-on, example-driven path from USB fundamentals to real device implementations so you can design, build, and debug USB I/O hardware and firmware with confidence. The book’s stepwise, fully documented examples (schematics and source) and the Intel insider perspective make it unusually practical for engineers building HID, mass-storage, audio, communications and custom vendor-class devices.
Who Will Benefit
Embedded and firmware engineers with basic hardware experience who need to design or integrate USB devices, write device-side firmware, or understand USB device classes and hardware interfaces.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: C programming (embedded C), basic digital electronics and circuit reading (schematics), familiarity with microcontrollers and I/O peripherals; some exposure to device drivers or protocols is helpful but not strictly required.
Key Takeaways
- Implement USB device firmware for common classes (HID, communications/CDC, audio, mass storage) using realistic examples
- Design the hardware interface between a microcontroller/USB controller and external I/O with usable schematics and component choices
- Create and understand USB descriptors, endpoints, transfers, and state machine interactions needed for reliable device operation
- Debug and troubleshoot USB devices using protocol-level knowledge and practical tips (including high-speed USB 2.0 considerations)
- Develop a vendor-class device and accompanying device driver (blockio example) to support custom I/O needs
- Apply compliance and interoperability considerations to increase the chance your device works across hosts and operating systems
Topics Covered
- Introduction to USB — goals, topology, and terminology
- USB architecture and protocol layers: transactions, packets, endpoints
- Descriptors, configurations, interfaces, and string handling
- USB hardware and electrical basics — connectors, transceivers, and pull-ups
- Endpoint management, control transfers, and class requests
- HID design example: building a simple input device with schematics and firmware
- Communications (CDC) example: serial-over-USB device implementation
- Audio and isochronous transfer basics and example implementations
- Mass-storage (SCSI-over-USB) example and file-access considerations
- Hub design and topology management
- High-speed USB 2.0 considerations and performance optimization
- Vendor-class (blockio) device definition and example device driver
- Firmware architecture, stack choices, and practical coding patterns
- Debugging, testing, and certification tips; using protocol analyzers
- Appendices: descriptor examples, timing tables, vendor solutions and parts, further reading
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
Covers similar practical, project-oriented ground as Jan Axelson’s 'USB Complete' but Hyde’s book is more oriented toward low-level hardware/firmware examples and Intel-centric implementation details, with a stronger emphasis on building real devices from schematics and code.
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