#Parallel port how to#
#Parallel port driver#
#Parallel port code#
#Parallel port Offline#

Ground pins are used as neutral these pins are used as (-) in batteries. You can see them with a dash sign on the top of the pin. However, you need to remember that most of the control pins work in an inverted manner. This register can be used in both ways: it enables a user to write values to the outside world, as well as read values from the outside world.

So, this port acts like a reader and it has 5 pins for inputs. These are called input pins or status registers and can hold a value that the outside world gives to the Parallel Port. There are altogether 8 output pins available, ranging from D0 to D7. You can also change voltages in specific pins. In simple words, these pins can be used to output a specific value in a data register. This is the register that allows the user to write values into the port. There are different types of registers called Data Register, Control Register and Status Register. A register is a place where you can write values and retrieve them. There is some more useful information to consider when programming a Printer Port: the usual Printer Port is a 25-pin female D-shaped port and it has several registers. If you're just thinking of lighting up an LED through a Printer Port, try to connect a 330 ohm resistor in between. It is better to use opto-couplers or ULN2803 when interfacing with an external device. There is a few more things to remember when using a PC's Parallel Port. Many geeks also use it to connect their own devices to their PCs. The parallel port usually comes as a 25-pin female port and it is commonly used to connect printers to a computer. I have never experienced such a bad incident! However, use these programs with great care… Communicating with the Parallel Port All of these sample programs and circuits are thoroughly tested and they will never lead you to damage your hardware or your computer.

#Parallel port code#

Parallel Ports that are built into your machine can be damaged very easily! So, use all of my sample code at your own risk. Therefore we are using a freeware driver, inpout32.dll, which can be found here.

#Parallel port driver#

In Windows XP and NT versions, direct port accessing is prohibited, so we need to have a driver in order to communicate with ports directly.

NET and it uses inpout32.dll for direct port access. The application that I have given is developed in Visual Basic.

#Parallel port how to#

In that section, I will illustrate some basics of Serial Data Transmission and how to use a more advanced serial port instead of a parallel port. I will then be giving an introduction to Serial Port Programming, which will be my next article on The Code Project. It is very simple and anyone who reads this article can use it at home. I will also be discussing a sample surveillance application that can be developed with few requirements. However, in this article, I am trying to convince you that porting with another external device is very easy and it has only a few tricks to be remembered! Most people think that interfacing with an external circuit is hard and never come up with a solution. The parallel port, or printer port, is one of the easiest pieces of hardware available to users for communicating with external circuitry or homemade hardware devices. How Do the Surveillance System and Sample Application Run?.More Advanced Way to Connect Devices to Parallel Port (Compact 8 Channel Output Driver).Reading a Pin (Status Register) or External Value.Addressing the Parallel Port and Registers.

#Parallel port Offline#

Download offline documentation - 51.4 KB.

Download sample I/O application - 82.3 KB.