Connect to the /dev/tty.PL2303G-USBtoUART120 from Catalyst app

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Created Nov ’24

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Hello, there are popular USB GPS receivers from GlobalSat called BU-353N5. It's shipped with driver application and works well. Once connected GPS receiver is visible as a /dev/tty.PL2303G-USBtoUART120 and produces NMEA codes there.

I'm a developer of an offline maps application which is available for iOS and macOS using Mac Catalyst. Is it possible to connect to the /dev/tty* from mac catalyst app? Is there an entitlement for that?

There are also driver sources available to work directly with USB device based on Prolific 2303, but before I'll try to integrate driver into the app I wan't to be sure there is no way to use an existing one.

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DTS Engineer OP

Apple

Nov ’24

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Is it possible to connect to the /dev/tty* from mac catalyst app?

From a Mac Catalyst app? Probably.

It won’t work on the iOS side of things; iOS’s accessory integration story is more complex.

Is there an entitlement for that?

Yep. That’s com.apple.security.device.serial.

Weirdly, that never made it into the current App Sandbox [1], so you have to look in Documentation Archive > Entitlement Key Reference > Enabling App Sandbox > Enabling Hardware Access.

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[1] Even more weirdly, I’ve not yet filed a bug about that… until now! (r. 139792032)

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