An alternative method to the VCP driver for bridging the com port data is to use a driver that is included as part of the operating system. The HID class driver was originally intended for user input devices such as mice and keyboards, however, the driver can pass any data that conforms to the standard. With this in mind, designers can use this driver to bridge data between the host application via the USB HID class driver and the UART on the MCU. Unlike the VCP driver that could use legacy applications that opened com ports, the HID driver requires the host application to use an API (provided by Silicon Labs) to access the USB. Although the HID application software is a little more involved than using legacy application code for the com port, for the user it is much simpler due to the fact that there is no driver install step required.