Parallel port program

To find out the availability of ports in a computer programmatically, we will use the memory location where the address of port is stored. If you run the the following code in Turbo C or Borland C, You will get the addresses of available ports. To check the output, we will use LED's. I have driven LED's directly from the port. But it is preferred to connect a buffer to prevent excessive draw of current from the port. With that, if you run the program given below, you should see the LED blinking with app.

I will stop this part here itself. Next part of this article is now ready. Click here to Read part 2. Part 3 is having the example using LCD module. There we are going to learn connecting LCD module to parallel port. Read part 3. Parallel port basics: In computers, ports are used mainly for two reasons: Device control and communication.

Displays contents of status register of parallel port. Tested with TurboC 3. Web electroSofts. Electronics Directory. About Us. Contact Us. Parallel port is a very commonly known port, widely used to connect the printer to the PC. For more detail on RS serial port programming and connections, read our article " Serial Communication using RS port ".

D Pin Number. Centronics 36 Pin Number. Data Lines. Out of Paper. Auto feed. Select In. Pin No D-Type SPP Signal. Data 0. Data 1. The following topics describe how a client operates a parallel port by using the interface provided by the port's FDO:. Creating and Starting a Parallel Port. Opening and Closing a Parallel Port. Obtaining Information About a Parallel Port. Synchronizing the Use of a Parallel Port. Programming to get input signal from Printer Port.

Learning outcome of this article 1. Dll file. To know how to use Printer Port except connecting with Printer. Programming to get input signal from Printer Port Learning outcome of this article 1. Each of those above-mentioned address ranges has its own address for Data Register, Control Register and Status Register.

So, if you want to access a Data register of port , then the Data register is also If your parallel port address is different, please do this accordingly to find its corresponding registers. There is another simple way to check the parallel port address of your computer.

With the mouse's right button, you can get the menu where you select Properties. When you go through steps, you will see a dialog similar to this. Locate the first item in the listbox and it carries the value — F so that this is the address range of the Printer Port.

The data register address is in hex or in dec. Here in this article, we are using a third party tool called inpout When we read the status of the port, we have to take the support of that third party application. In inpout So, we don't have to consider much or think about how this happens; it will do everything for us…. As far as we are using a DLL file to communicate with the hardware, we have to know the links that this particular file provides for the user, or the entry points for that particular file.

Here, I will describe all the entry points one by one. The Inp32 function can be used to read values from any address that is given through its PortAddress parameter. Also, the Out32 function is specifically used to write values to data ports.

A long description on both functions can be found below. Inp32 is a general-purpose function defined inside inpout This function is included in a DLL, so this file can be called within any programming language that supports DLL import functions. Here, for this sample application, I have used Visual Basic.

NET because it can be used by any person who knows a little about the. NET Framework. What you have to do to read the status of a parallel port is very simple. I will explain everything in steps, but keep in mind that in the sample coding I assume that the Address of the status register is or 0xh in hex. Now you can clearly see that all the power is in your hands. If you're a creative person with a sound knowledge of electronics, then the possibilities are endless….

Before you run and compile this application, download inpout Alternatively, you can just copy and paste the DLL file to your Windows System directory and then you don't want to have that file in your application path. You only have to follow one guide.