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EDIT: Support for USB-RS-232 adapters is built in for most Linux kernels.
What a frustration ...
. . . Support for WinXP == Support for WinXP --> TRUE!
. . . Support for Linux == Support for Linux --> Mostly FALSE! <--- UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
I bought a StarTech.com USB to RS232 Serial Adapter (ICUSB232PRO) so that I can use my IBM laptop to program and perhaps develop some data capture software for a Sharp XE-A401 cash register that belongs to Project Share - a local charitable food bank and social support organization. The StarTech ad claims support for Windows, Mac, and Linux! There is a Win-XP application by Sharp for the register that works fine but is very limited in capabilities. I was hoping to fine tune the data capture capabilities, and perhaps even move them to an Arduino Mega or a Raspberry Pi.
When the adapter arrived and I loaded the software CD, I discovered that the Linux "Support" (sic) consisted of Make files and Source files for RedHat 7.3, 8, and 9 ... the latest from March of 2004. I did try the Makefile for RedHat 9, but as I expected, it fell flat on it's face. I tried to attach the Makefile and the driver code. When I plug in the adapter nothing happens.
Code: Select all
mint mkdriver # make inst
gcc -D__KERNEL__ -I/usr/src/linux-2.4/include -I/usr/src/linux-2.4/drivers/usb/serial -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -Wno-trigraphs -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -fno-strict-aliasing -fno-common -Wno-unused -DMODULE -c pl2303.c
pl2303.c:33:26: fatal error: linux/config.h: No such file or directory
compilation terminated.
make: *** [pl2303.o] Error 1
I have looked at the code, and just the list of 'include' files is daunting. The directory structure is different than Mint ... some of the files do not exist on my Mint LiveCD ... and there are 82 copies of 'config.h' files scattered about in the 14.1 LiveCD file system. Holy grief ... where would I even start?
Driver zip file (Win, Mac, & Linux) (How do I attach just 2 of the Linux files?)
I would certainly appreciate any comments, suggestions, and assistance in determining the approach to solving this problem.
Blessings in abundance, all the best, & ENJOY!
Art in Carlisle PA USA