- the tester will identify the cable's capabilities, on the left side
- the tester will then show the cable's purpose, on the right side
To understand further the capabilities and purpose of a cable, I recommend reading the USB specification, mainly the one for the [type-C connector](https://www.usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-connector-specification-release-23).
- small: no need to build it as compact as possible
- A or micro-B 3.0: the connectors that support it are obvious, and it's rare they are used for anything else than Super-Speed transfer (plus they are less common or problematic)
- Power Delivery capabilities: this requires complex host software communicating with the eMarker chip in the cable
- OTG: even if detecting this functionality is easy, micro-B OTG adapters are not popular anymore
- impedance: only the presence of wires is tester, not their impedance
mode of operation
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Most of the tests just verify if the wires corresponding to capabilities are present in the cable.
Some additional tests verify the resistances in the plugs.
For more details, check the schematic, and refer to [type-C specification](https://www.usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-connector-specification-release-23).
The left side identifies the capabilities.
Based on that, a micro-controller (MCU) with map the combination into a purpose on the right side.
The left side if independent of the MCU and right side.
- verify the resistance of wires, particularly the power ones
- verify the impedance of wires, particularly the differential ones
- verify if the shield(s) is more than just a wire
- read out capabilities from electronically marked cables
- guarantee USB cable compliance or conformity, as this is [very complex](https://www.usb.org/documents?search=&category%5B%5D=49&type%5B%5D=56&tid_2%5B%5D=41&items_per_page=50)
