USB HID based IO utils

This project was started with the idea of turning a USB device into a kind of IO Swiss-knife, so that many things could be done with a single program. The use-case was to implement a remote-control, first to read the durations, and next to write them back. I had success in the read, by adjusting for code-delays. (The writes require more accurate timings, and i wrote a separate app for that. See  chaukasalshi.blogspot.in/2015/03/pic-micro-remote-for-tata-sky.html ) This project is based on Microchips Custom HID MLA project. Not all files are provided, only the main ones that were changed. The app_device_hid_custom.* files replaced with app_device_hid_io.*. Actually, i wanted to abstract the io routines into pin_io module, which would be independent of protocol, i.e USB/Serial/Other. And to create it as a standalone project with as few files as possible. Some such items are TODO, i may not get time to finish them. i have used the 18F4550 for this project. Probably, the project is quite primitive, considering the level of expertise on these forums, but i hope it may help somebody to begin.
The project files are available here : github.com/manojmo/pic_micro/tree/master/hid_io

Firing the IO commands :

This is done using the pyusb framework. The hid_io_test.py file has the code to send the commands and receive the results. Just as a POC, the results can be saved to a .JS file, and viewed as a chart in mychart.html, using the Chart.js framework. That needs to be downloaded separately. The script also has a facility to adjust results, based on expected timing inaccuracies. For the sampling commands, num_samples are specified, and the script will calculate the number of packets and loop to receive them.

Common features

The framework is generic, and the commands accept input like which pin to use, what delay intervals, etc. (As a result, accurate timing is an issue. ). There is a debug feature that can return you the actual time taken for an interval. (not very exact) Routines are provided to measure and execute 2^24 cycle delays. Timings can be specified in uS or mS. There are flags for each command, to provide additional control. All sampling commands also specify an IDLE state/value, and sampling does to start until the input changes from the IDLE state/value. This is useful for manually-triggered sampling, like reading from a remote.
The commands are

WP : Write Pin :

This allows us to write a pattern to the <pin_num>. A pattern is an array of 2-byte durations, starting from HI. Currently, upto ~ 60 durations are supported. They end with a zero duration marker. There is a facility to make the HIGHs pulsed at a carrier-freq, as needed for IR codes. A reset flag, mS/uS flag, and a repeat flag are also provided.

RP : Read Pin :

This allows us to read <num_samples> of HIGH/LOW states from <pin_num> at <sampleInterval> intervals. Not well tested. TODO : store the result in bits instead of bytes. A debug flag and mS/uS flag are also provided.

RPD : Read Pin durations :

This allows us to read <num_samples> durations of HIGH/LOWs by sampling <pin_num> at intervals of <sampleInterval>. durations upto FFFF cycles are currently supported. A debug flag, idle-state flag and mS/uS flag are also provided. This was used to read durations of IR-code from tata-sky remote, but i needed to adjust the values for code-exec delays. i have blogged about it here : chaukasalshi.blogspot.in/2015/03/pic-micro-remote-for-tata-sky.html

RA : Read ADC :

This allows us to read <num_samples> samples from ADC at intervals of <sampleInterval>. A debug flag, idle-value and mS/uS flag are also provided. The results can be viewed as a chart.