Using code written for the serial port on an usb port

Question

Hi all :)

I've got an USB card reader that I need to access from Lazarus / Delphi.

The SDK is written in VB6 and talks to the serial port, so in Windows it installs a driver to map the USB port to a serial port.

I'd like to skip that step (eg so that the same code works in Linux), but I'm not very familiar with the USB protocol, so I don't know how it maps to the serial one.

The VB6 code sends each character individually (serial, so to say), while the USB interface allows to send streams of data.

Should I still send byte by byte, or just concat the commands and send it in one go? Or is the concept completely different anyway?

Gratefully for any advice,
Lasheimok

Answer 1

The USB protocol is completely different from a serial port. It sounds like the easiest approach for you might be to install a suitable USB-serial driver on Linux, and use the same serial protocol. Chances are there already exists such a driver that works with your device.