Convert WebUSB article from WebFu

src/site/content/en/blog/usb/index.md

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+---
+title: Access USB Devices on the Web
+subhead: | 
+  The WebUSB API makes USB safer and easier to use by bringing it to the Web.
+authors:
+  - beaufortfrancois
+date: 2016-03-30
+updated: 2020-10-19
+hero: hero.jpg
+thumbnail: thumbnail.jpg
+alt: A photo of an Arduino Micro board
+description: | 
+  The WebUSB API makes USB safer and easier to use by bringing it to the Web.
+tags:
+  - blog # blog is a required tag for the article to show up in the blog.
+  - capabilities
+  - devices
+feedback:
+  - api
+---
+
+If I said plain and simple "USB", there is a good chance that you will
+immediately think of keyboards, mice, audio, video and storage devices. You're
+right but you'll find other kinds of Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices out
+there.
+
+These non-standardized USB devices require hardware vendors to write native
+drivers and SDKs in order for you (the developer) to take advantage of them.
+Sadly this native code has historically prevented these devices from being used
+by the Web. And that's one of the reasons the WebUSB API has been created: to
+provide a way to expose USB device services to the Web. With this API, hardware
+manufacturers will be able to build cross-platform JavaScript SDKs for their
+devices.
+But most importantly this will **make USB safer and easier to use by bringing
+it to the Web**.
+
+Let's see what you could expect with the WebUSB API:
+
+1. Buy a USB device.
+2. Plug it into your computer.
+3. A notification appears right away, with the right website to go to for this
+   device.
+4. Simply click on it. Website is there and ready to use!
+5. Click to connect and a USB device chooser shows up in Chrome, where you can
+   pick your device.
+6. Tada!
+
+What would this procedure be like without the WebUSB API?
+
+- Read a box, label, or search on line and possibly end up on the wrong website.
+- Have to install a native application.
+- Is it supported on my operating system? Make sure you download the "right"
+  thing.
+- Scary OS prompts popup and warn you about installing drivers/applications from
+  the Internet.
+- Malfunctioning code harms the whole computer. The Web is built to [contain
+  malfunctioning websites].
+- Only use the USB device once? On the Web, the website is gone once you closed
+  tab. On a computer the code sticks around.
+
+## Before we start
+
+This article assumes you have some basic knowledge of how USB works. If not, I
+recommend reading [USB in a NutShell]. For background information about USB,
+check out the [official USB specifications].
+
+The [WebUSB API] is available in Chrome 61.
+
+### Available for Origin Trials
+
+In order to get as much feedback as possible from developers using the WebUSB
+API in the field, we've previously added this feature in Chrome 54 and Chrome
+57 as an [origin trial].
+
+The latest trial has successfully ended in September 2017.
+
+## Privacy and security
+
+### HTTPS only
+
+Because this experimental API is a powerful new feature added to the Web, it is
+made available only to [secure contexts]. This means you'll need to build with
+TLS in mind.
+
+### User gesture required
+
+As a security feature, getting access to connected USB devices with
+`navigator.usb.requestDevice` must be called via a user gesture
+like a touch or mouse click.
+
+### Feature Policy
+
+A feature policy is a mechanism that allows developers to selectively enable
+and disable various browser features and APIs. It can be defined via a HTTP
+header and/or an iframe "allow" attribute.
+
+You can define a feature that controls whether the usb attribute is exposed on
+the Navigator object, or in other words if you allow WebUSB.
+
+Below is an example of a header policy where WebUSB is not allowed:
+
+```http
+Feature-Policy: fullscreen "*"; usb "none"; payment "self" https://payment.example.com
+```
+
+Below is another example of a different container policy where USB is allowed:
+
+```html
+<iframe allowpaymentrequest allow="usb; fullscreen"></iframe>
+```
+
+## Let's start coding
+
+The WebUSB API relies heavily on JavaScript [Promises]. If you're not familiar
+with them, check out this great [Promises tutorial]. One more thing, `() => {}`
+are simply ECMAScript 2015 [Arrow functions] -- they have a shorter syntax
+compared to function expressions and lexically bind the `this` value.
+
+### Get access to USB devices
+
+You can either prompt the user to select a single connected USB device using
+`navigator.usb.requestDevice` or call `navigator.usb.getDevices` to get a list
+of all connected USB devices the origin has access to.
+
+The `navigator.usb.requestDevice` function takes a mandatory JavaScript object
+that defines `filters`. These filters are used to match any USB device with the
+given vendor (`vendorId`) and optionally product (`productId`) identifiers. The
+`classCode`, `protocolCode`, `serialNumber`, and `subclassCode` keys can also be
+defined there as well.
+
+<figure class="w-figure">
+  <img src="./usb-device-chooser.png" class="w-screenshot" alt="Screenshot of the USB device user prompt in Chrome">
+  <figcaption class="w-figcaption">USB device user prompt.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+For instance, here's how to get access to a connected Arduino device configured
+to allow the origin.
+
+```js
+navigator.usb.requestDevice({ filters: [{ vendorId: 0x2341 }] })
+.then(device => {
+  console.log(device.productName);      // "Arduino Micro"
+  console.log(device.manufacturerName); // "Arduino LLC"
+})
+.catch(error => { console.log(error); });
+```
+
+Before you ask, I didn't magically come up with this `0x2341` hexadecimal
+number. I simply searched for the word "Arduino" in this [List of USB ID's].
+
+The USB `device` returned in the fulfilled promise above has some basic, yet
+important information about the device such as the supported USB version,
+maximum packet size, vendor and product IDs, the number of possible
+configurations the device can have - basically all fields contained in the
+[device USB Descriptor].
+
+For info, if a USB device announces its [support for WebUSB], as well as
+defining a landing page URL, Chrome will show a persistent notification when the
+USB device is plugged in. Clicking on this notification will open the landing page.
+
+<figure class="w-figure">
+  <img src="./web-usb-notification.png" class="w-screenshot" alt="Screenshot of the WebUSB notification in Chrome">
+  <figcaption class="w-figcaption">WebUSB notification.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+From there, you can simply call `navigator.usb.getDevices` and get access to
+your Arduino device as shown below.
+
+```js
+navigator.usb.getDevices().then(devices => {
+  devices.forEach(device => {
+    console.log(device.productName);      // "Arduino Micro"
+    console.log(device.manufacturerName); // "Arduino LLC"
+  });
+})
+```
+
+### Talk to an Arduino USB board
+
+Okay, now let's see how easy it is to communicate from a WebUSB compatible
+Arduino board over the USB port. Check out instructions at
+[https://github.com/webusb/arduino] to WebUSB-enable your [sketches].
+
+Don't worry, I'll cover all the WebUSB device methods mentioned below later in
+this article.
+
+```js
+let device;
+
+navigator.usb.requestDevice({ filters: [{ vendorId: 0x2341 }] })
+.then(selectedDevice => {
+    device = selectedDevice;
+    return device.open(); // Begin a session.
+  })
+.then(() => device.selectConfiguration(1)) // Select configuration #1 for the device.
+.then(() => device.claimInterface(2)) // Request exclusive control over interface #2.
+.then(() => device.controlTransferOut({
+    requestType: 'class',
+    recipient: 'interface',
+    request: 0x22,
+    value: 0x01,
+    index: 0x02})) // Ready to receive data
+.then(() => device.transferIn(5, 64)) // Waiting for 64 bytes of data from endpoint #5.
+.then(result => {
+  const decoder = new TextDecoder();
+  console.log('Received: ' + decoder.decode(result.data));
+})
+.catch(error => { console.log(error); });
+```
+
+Please keep in mind that the WebUSB library we are using here is just
+implementing one example protocol (based on the standard USB serial protocol)
+and that manufacturers can create any set and types of endpoints they wish.
+Control transfers are especially nice for small configuration commands as
+they get bus priority and have a well defined structure.
+
+And here's the sketch that has been uploaded to the Arduino board.
+
+```arduino
+// Third-party WebUSB Arduino library
+#include <WebUSB.h>
+
+WebUSB WebUSBSerial(1 /* https:// */, "webusb.github.io/arduino/demos");
+
+#define Serial WebUSBSerial
+
+void setup() {
+  Serial.begin(9600);
+  while (!Serial) {
+    ; // Wait for serial port to connect.
+  }
+  Serial.write("WebUSB FTW!");
+  Serial.flush();
+}
+
+void loop() {
+  // Nothing here for now.
+}
+```
+
+The third-party [WebUSB Arduino library] used in the sample code above does
+basically two things:
+- The device acts as a WebUSB device enabling Chrome to read the [landing page
+  URL].
+- It exposes a WebUSB Serial API that you may use to override the default one.
+
+Let's look at the JavaScript code again. Once we get the `device` picked by the
+user, `device.open` simply runs all platform-specific steps to start a session
+with the USB device. Then, we have to select an available USB Configuration
+with `device.selectConfiguration`. Remember that a Configuration specifies how
+the device is powered, its maximum power consumption and its number of
+interfaces. Talking about interfaces, we also need to request exclusive access
+with `device.claimInterface` since data can only be transferred to an interface
+or associated endpoints when the interface is claimed. Finally calling
+`device.controlTransferOut` is needed to set up the Arduino device with the
+appropriate commands to communicate through the WebUSB Serial API.
+
+From there, `device.transferIn` performs a bulk transfer onto the
+device to inform it that the host is ready to receive bulk data. Then, the
+promise is fulfilled with a `result` object containing a [DataView] `data` that
+has to be parsed appropriately.
+
+For those who are familiar with USB, all of this should look pretty familiar.
+
+### I want more
+
+The WebUSB API lets you interact with the all USB transfer/endpoint types:
+
+- CONTROL transfers, used to send or receive configuration or command
+  parameters to a USB device are handled with `controlTransferIn(setup,
+  length)` and `controlTransferOut(setup, data)`.
+- INTERRUPT transfers, used for a small amount of time sensitive data are
+  handled with the same methods as BULK transfers with
+  `transferIn(endpointNumber, length)` and `transferOut(endpointNumber, data)`.
+- ISOCHRONOUS transfers, used for streams of data like video and sound are
+  handled with `isochronousTransferIn(endpointNumber, packetLengths)` and
+ `isochronousTransferOut(endpointNumber, data, packetLengths)`.
+- BULK transfers, used to transfer a large amount of non-time-sensitive data in
+  a reliable way are handled with `transferIn(endpointNumber, length)` and
+ `transferOut(endpointNumber, data)`.
+
+You may also want to have a look at Mike Tsao's [WebLight project] which
+provides a ground-up example of building a USB-controlled LED device designed
+for the WebUSB API (not using an Arduino here). You'll find hardware, software,
+and firmware.
+
+## Tips
+
+Debugging USB in Chrome is easier with the internal page `chrome://device-log`
+where you can see all USB device related events in one single place.
+
+<figure class="w-figure">
+  <img src="./web-usb-device-log-page.png" class="w-screenshot"  alt="Screenshot of the device log page to debug WebUSB in Chrome">
+  <figcaption class="w-figcaption">Device log page in Chrome for debugging the WebUSB API.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+The internal page `chrome://usb-internals` also comes in handy and allows you
+to simulate connection connection and disconnection of virtual WebUSB devices.
+This is be useful for doing UI testing without the need for real hardware.
+
+<figure class="w-figure">
+  <img src="./web-usb-internals-page.png" class="w-screenshot" alt="Screenshot of the internal page to debug WebUSB in Chrome">
+  <figcaption class="w-figcaption">Internal page in Chrome for debugging the WebUSB API.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+On most Linux systems, USB devices are mapped with read-only permissions by
+default. To allow Chrome to open a USB device, you will need to add a new [udev
+rule]. Create a file at `/etc/udev/rules.d/50-yourdevicename.rules` with the
+following content:
+
+```vim
+SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="[yourdevicevendor]", MODE="0664", GROUP="plugdev"
+```
+
+where `[yourdevicevendor]` is `2341` if your device is an Arduino for instance.
+`ATTR{idProduct}` can also be added for a more specific rule. Make sure your
+`user` is a member of the `plugdev` group.  Then, just reconnect your device.
+
+## What's next
+
+A second iteration of the WebUSB API will look at [Shared Worker] and [Service
+Worker] support. Imagine for instance a security key website using the WebUSB
+API that would install a service worker to act as a middle man to authenticate
+users.
+
+{% Aside  %}
+Microsoft OS 2.0 Descriptors used by the Arduino examples only work on Windows
+8.1 and later. Without that Windows support still requires manual installation
+of an INF file.
+{% endAside %}
+
+## Resources
+
+- Stack Overflow: [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/webusb](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/webusb)
+- WebUSB API Spec: [http://wicg.github.io/webusb/](https://wicg.github.io/webusb/)
+- Chrome Feature Status: [https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5651917954875392](https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5651917954875392)
+- Spec Issues: [https://github.com/WICG/webusb/issues](https://github.com/WICG/webusb/issues)
+- Implementation Bugs: [http://crbug.com?q=component:Blink>USB](http://crbug.com?q=component:Blink>USB)
+- WebUSB ❤ ️Arduino: [https://github.com/webusb/arduino](https://github.com/webusb/arduino)
+- IRC: [#webusb](irc://irc.w3.org:6665/#webusb) on W3C's IRC
+- WICG Mailing list: [https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-wicg/](https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-wicg/)
+- WebLight project: [https://github.com/sowbug/weblight](https://github.com/sowbug/weblight)
+
+Please share your WebUSB demos with the [#webusb] hashtag.
+
+<!-- lint disable definition-case -->
+[contain malfunctioning websites]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29e0CtgXZSI
+[USB in a NutShell]: http://www.beyondlogic.org/usbnutshell
+[official USB specifications]: https://www.usb.org/
+[WebUSB API]: https://wicg.github.io/webusb/
+[origin trial]: https://github.com/GoogleChrome/OriginTrials/blob/gh-pages/developer-guide.md
+[secure contexts]: https://w3c.github.io/webappsec/specs/powerfulfeatures/#intro
+[Promises]: https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise
+[Promises tutorial]: /promises
+[Arrow functions]: https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Functions/Arrow_functions
+[List of USB ID's]: http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids
+[device USB Descriptor]: http://www.beyondlogic.org/usbnutshell/usb5.shtml#DeviceDescriptors
+[support for WebUSB]: https://wicg.github.io/webusb/#webusb-platform-capability-descriptor
+[https://github.com/webusb/arduino]: https://github.com/webusb/arduino
+[sketches]: http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Sketch
+[WebUSB Arduino library]: https://github.com/webusb/arduino/tree/gh-pages/library/WebUSB
+[landing page URL]: https://wicg.github.io/webusb/#webusb-platform-capability-descriptor
+[DataView]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/DataView
+[WebLight project]: https://github.com/sowbug/weblight
+[udev rule]: https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/udev.html
+[Shared Worker]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/SharedWorker
+[Service Worker]: https://jakearchibald.github.io/isserviceworkerready/resources.html
+[#webusb]: https://twitter.com/search?q=webusb
+<!-- lint enable definition-case -->