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AN1886 - APPLICATION NOTE
APPENDIX L. GLOSSARY
Table 26. Terms and Abbreviations
ACK
Handshake packet indicating a positive acknowledgment.
Buffer
Storage used to compensate for a difference in data rates or time of occurrence
of events, when transmitting data from one device to another.
Bus Enumeration
Detecting and identifying USB devices.
Class
A USB device is organized into classifications such as HID, audio, or other-based on
the device’s features, supported requests, and data protocol.
Collection
A collection is a meaningful grouping of Input, Output, and Feature items – for example,
mouse, keyboard, joystick, and pointer. A pointer Collection contains items for x and y
position data and button data. The Collection and End Collection items are used to
delineate collections.
Control
A sink or source of a data field—for example, an LED is a sink or destination for data. A
button is an example of a source of data.
Control pipe
The default pipe used for bi-directional communication of data as well as for device
requests. Also message pipe.
Data phase
Part of a device’s response to a request.
Descriptor
Information about a USB device is stored in segments of its ROM (read-only memory).
These segments are called descriptors.
Device
A logical or physical entity that performs a function. The actual entity described
depends on the context of the reference. At the lowest level, device may refer to a single
hardware component, as in a memory device. At a higher level, it may refer to a
collection of hardware components that perform a particular function, such as a USB
interface device. At an even higher level, device may refer to the function performed by
an entity attached to the USB; for example, a data/FAX modem device. Devices may be
physical, electrical, addressable, and logical.
When used as a non-specific reference, a USB device is either a hub or a function.
Device class
A method of organizing common functions and protocols for devices that serve similar
functions –f or example, communication, audio, display, and so on.
Device descriptor
Packet of information that describes the device—for example, the vendor, product ID,
firmware version, and so on.
Endpoint descriptor
Standard USB descriptor describing the type and capabilities of a USB communication
channel, or pipe.
Feature control
Feature controls affect the behavior of the device or report the state of the device.
Unlike input or output data, feature data is intended for use by device configuration
utilities and not applications. For example, the value for the repeat rate of a particular
key could be a feature control. HID feature controls are unrelated to features discussed
in Chapter 9 of the USB Specification.
Feature item
Adds data fields to a Feature report.
Field
A discrete section of data within a report.
Frame
The smallest unit of time on the Universal Serial Bus (USB); equal to 1 millisecond.
HID (Human Interface
Device)
Acronym specifying either a specific class of devices or the type of device known as
Human Interface Devices (HID) or HID class devices—for example, a data glove. In this
document, “HID class” is synonymous with a device of type: human interface.
HID class
The classification of USB devices associated with human interface devices (HID).
HID class device
A device of type: human interface and classified as such.