I posted this last week to the communications list, but received no responses. Any takers here?
BACKGROUND: I am developing a custom application for a customer that uses a Palm m5xx and the USB interface to exchange data with a PC running Windows 2000/XP. After searching the archives, I took the initial approach of accessing the device via the undocumented functions exposed by the Palm desktop module "USBPort.dll". By examining the Emulator and ROM Transfer sources, I have cobbled together a simple prototype that can send and receive data across the USB interface. For various reasons, however, my customer's production environment will not have the Palm desktop installed. In addition, there is no relationship between the user of any handheld in the system and a Palm desktop or even a workstation login. I cannot change this setup so please do not suggest that I simply install the Palm desktop and Hot-Sync solution, and write a conduit. I would if I could! My preferred approach is to use a generic HID driver to communicate with the Palm device, thus avoiding the need to install anything other than my application on the workstation. Other than some vague references to a Handspring program that turned up during a Google search, however, there is nothing that suggests this approach will work. QUESTION(S) Q1. Can I talk to the Palm device via the USB interface without the PalmUSBD.sys driver installed on the PC? If so, can someone provide a quick sketch of the CreateFile and Ioctl calls I'll need to use? Q2. Otherwise, can I redistribute the PalmUSBD.sys and USBPort.dll with my application? I am assuming that I can hack the INF file and get the USB driver installed, as it doesn't appear to depend on anything else. I'm really hoping that someone from PalmSource will pick up on this thread. I know the Palm is focused on delivering customers and functionality to consumers, but the device is really great as a programmable platform for collecting data, and it is a shame this interface is not well documented. Regards, mjh -- For information on using the Palm Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/
