GCDC Drivers and gcdcTool Software
Click here for the Windows XP and Windows 7 software
Click here for the Linux software
GCDC Driver for Windows
Introduction
Finally, with the help of a talented and underpaid software programmer we have cracked multiple layers of Microsoft's obfuscation and lack of documentation. Behold, the Windows USB driver package for GCDC products...beta release. This installation package provides necessary drivers to access our products directly via the USB port on Windows XP and 32bit Windows 7 systems. Furthermore, we provide a Java API, documentation, and example code to you start building custom applications.
Device Operation
GCDC products operate as data loggers and sensor "dongles" supporting real time data streaming. A device will mount to a host operating system as a mass storage device to support access to the data files and configuration settings. This straight forward interface is widely compatible with all systems and provides complete functionality of our products. A device will also mount as a Human Interface Device (HID) similar to a mouse or keyboard device. The HID provides direct access to device sensor, clock, and other features. Our devices are USB HID compliant and utilize standard drivers included with Linux (jump here is you are a Linux user). However, Microsoft Windows operating systems require specific drivers to utilize the HID.
Our Windows driver package installs Microsoft's "winUSB" driver, the open source USB library "libusb", and the javax.usb library for Java compatibility to libusb. The additional libusb layer provides cross compatibility with existing applications already using the libusb open source code. Our command-line based application "gcdcTool" utilizes the libusb interface. The installation package also provides a convenient Java API for using specific features of our products in a Java application.
What does all this mean? Our driver installation package provides real time access to our products on Windows based machines. Using the command-line tool, a user can set the real time clock directly, access data in real time, or upgrade the device firmware. Complete API documentation and example code also allows a user to easily integrate a GCDC product into customized software applications for Windows systems.
Installation Procedure (Windows XP SP3, Window 7 32bit)
The installation package requires the user have administrator privileges.
1. Run gcdc-driver-setup-1.devel.exe (this can be done with or without the device plugged in).
2. During the installation, a console window titled "zadic.exe" will appear. Follow its simple instructions directing you to connect or reconnect the GCDC device. After these instructions, winusb will be installed and associated with GCDC devices. The process backs up your registry for safety and this may take several minutes depending on the size of the registry - PLEASE BE PATIENT!!
NOTE: Windows associates devices to USB port location. If a GCDC device is plugged into another port, you may be prompted to install the driver again. Select "install the software automatically" when prompted by Windows. The installation may ask for the location of WinUSBCoInstaller2.dll. This file is located in the system32 directory.
3. After the installation is complete, post_install.bat will run to delete the unneeded install files and run the test application gcdcTool.exe. The test application will present streaming data to the console window in real time. Note: You can run it again manually by running post_install.bat if something goes wrong during the post install.
If your Windows system encounters compatibility problems, you may run "uninstall GCDC Accelerometer driver" or use the Windows System Restore feature to roll back the system configuration.
4. The installation package creates a directory called "gcdcUsbAccelerometer" in the Program Files directory. This directory contains four sub-directories: "bin" includes the gcdcTool executable file, "docs" contains the documentation for the libraries and Java API, "examples" includes shell script and Java example code, and "lib" contains the necessary Java files for interfacing with libusb.
NOTE: If you plan to use the Java API, copy the "USBjni.dll" file from the "lib" directory to the "Windows\System32" directory.
gcdcTool for Linux
The source code for gcdcTool is published at Source Forge. Visit our gcdcTool project page. This code can be used to develop your own real time data acquisition applications using our products.
Download the gcdcTool source code and compile the application on your distribution of Linux. At this time, the makefile is Redhat specific so you may need to tweak the makefile for other linux distributions. All code dependencies are included with the source code package. Once compiled, the gcdcTool application provides an assortment of options to access the RTC, stream data, or upgrade the firmware.