Communication apparatus capable of implementing a selected communication protocol

A computer-implemented method for configuring a communication apparatus, the method executed at a host and comprising:

• sending a configuration instruction to a communication controller of the apparatus, the configuration instruction including a selected communication protocol identifier;
• and
• causing the communication controller to configure electrical pins of a slave-side communication interface thereof to define a communication port and to implement a communication protocol thereon that corresponds to the communication protocol identifier, the pins of the slave-side communication interface being in electrical communication with a slave socket having a predetermined layout;
• whereby communication is facilitated between the communication port and an external slave device by a protocol adapter corresponding to the selected communication protocol that is removably received within the slave socket, wherein a footprint of each slave socket is configured to at least partially correspond to the layout of the protocol adapter, such that the protocol adapter is interchangeable between at least a subset of the slave sockets.

A computer-implemented method for configuring a communication apparatus, the method executed at the communication apparatus and comprising:

• receiving a configuration instruction at a communication controller of the apparatus, the configuration instruction including a selected communication protocol identifier;
• and
• configuring electrical pins of a slave-side communication interface of a communication controller to define a communication port and to implement a communication protocol thereon that corresponds to the communication protocol identifier, the pins of the slave-side communication interface being in electrical communication with a slave socket having a predetermined layout;
• whereby communication is facilitated between the communication port and an external slave device by a protocol adapter corresponding to the selected communication protocol that is removably received within the slave socket, wherein a footprint of each slave socket is configured to at least partially correspond to the layout of the protocol adapter, such that the protocol adapter is interchangeable between at least a subset of the slave sockets.