CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptc++node.jsusbsensors
Rohit
Rohit

Reputation: 7161

How to access device via Web Client interface without JS SDK?

I am having a finger print scanner device having USB interface. The device also has compatible drivers, and SDK in C,C++,.NET and Java

I wanted to develop a web application to provide user interface instead of desktop application. However there is no direct Javascript interface SDK provided.

So is following approach correct?

One possible way to achieve this may be using Node.js Addons

Scanner Device <--DRIVER--><--C++ SDK--><--Node.js server--><--Client side JS/HTML-->

Thanks!

Upvotes: 1

Views: 647

Answers (1)

ralf htp
ralf htp

Reputation: 9412

yes is correct, there are working applications for this approach like access a RFID reader with rc522 chipset from node.js, see https://github.com/sbrinkmann/rc522-rfid/blob/master/src/rc522.c

you have to install node-gyp (node.js native addon build tool) and install the device-specific libraries on the machine where the device is attached (see the project in the git above)

however, maybe there are easier and more general solutions that do not require installation of device specific libraries on the target machine. this depends on what USB device class the fingerprint scanner implements:

  • if it implements a USB HID device (what is common) you can access its output using the npm package node-hid

  • if it implements a virtual COM port (CDC ACM class) you can use npm package serialport to access its data

  • ...

you can determine the USB class of the fingerprint scanner on linux by lsusb -v | grep bDeviceClass (or lsusb -v | grep bInterfaceClass if defined on interface level) or the graphical tool USBView on windows

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions