The two projects are: a Windows CE driver for Phidgets, and LSP (layered service provider) samples.
(Click here for larger image of Phidget 4-channel servo)Windows CE Phidgets driverThis is a driver to allow Windows CE libraries and applications access to USB "Phidgets." According to the
Phidgets website, Phidgets are an easy to use set of USB-interfaced building blocks that can be used in conjunction with a PC to implement low-cost sensing and control. Existing Phidgets include motor controllers, RFID readers, and a wide variety of sensors.
Windows Embedded product manager Nic Sagez, a contributor to the Phidgets project, says that the "exciting" thing about this driver is that it's built on existing shared source code, the
USB webcam driver. Most applications won't talk directly to the driver but will instead interface to a higher level library such as Phidget20.dll, which provides a C-level API.
Sagez suggests that this new shared source project may be of particular interest to participants in the ongoing
Windows CE Shared Source Contest, which makes use of the shared source USB driver. Additionally, "Phidgets may be of interest to hobbyists and academics working in robotics, who will be able to use Windows CE with these USB sensors and controllers," Sagez adds.
In addition to the driver itself, the current Alpha release includes:
- Brief instructions for building and installing the driver
- Phidget20 library compiled for Windows CE
- Two example projects
- Installers for x86 and ARM9
The driver and libraries have been tested on the x86-based
ICOP eBox, and on the ARM-based
LN2410SBC SBC (single-board computer) from Littlechips. The project's CodePlex home is
here.
LSP samplesThis project grew out of the inadequacy of the LSP (layered service provider) samples in both Windows CE 4.2 and 5.0, according to project coordinator Igor Dvorkin. According to Microsoft, a
layered protocol cannot stand alone, and implements only higher-level communications functions while relying on an underlying transport stack for the actual exchange of data with a remote endpoint. A
provider chain comprises one or more layered protocols strung together, and anchored by a
base protocol, such as TCP, which is fully capable of performing data communications with a remote endpoint.
The shared source LSP samples project's current goal is to develop a second generation of lsphelper, a library on which LSPs can be built, according to Dvorkin. The longer term goal is to have all LSPs for both Windows CE and Windows Mobile built using a common library. The LSP project's CodePlex home is
here.
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