What are the specs for usb cable for datatransfer or debugging

Hi,

When I tried to connect my phone to the PC for debugging or datatransfer I found that most USB cables did not work, although they where fine for charging the phone.
Finally the USB-cable from my mediaplayer did work; (my mediaplayer manual emphasises only to use this special usb cable) AFAIK there is a difference between a usb-cable that can only be used for charging the phone and one that can be used for both charging and datatransfer. All the cables work with an external harddisk for my PC.
The description that I found is OTG A-device and OTG B-device (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go), but if I ask in a shop for an OTG cable I get the one with which you can connect a keyboard or a mouse to the phone.

Does someone know what is special about the usb cable for the phone, and what is the description I can use to buy one.