the pc's parallel port.htm

Parallel Port description of the communication port

      access ports and respond to interrupts via a driver.</P>
      <P>Windows XP is based on Windows NT/2000, so for port access under 
      Windows XP, try the NT/2000 tools. For existing software that accesses 
      ports, you can try right-clicking the program icon or directory listing 
      and selecting Properties &gt; Compatibility &gt; Windows 98. No guarantees 
      that this will help.</P>
      <P>A third way to access ports is to use the drivers included with 
      Windows. However, Windows has no functions for generic port access, only 
      functions tied to specific uses. For example, there are API calls for 
      accessing printers and for accessing serial ports controlled by UARTs. In 
      Visual Basic, the Printer object and MSComm control are other options for 
      parallel and serial-port access. Built-in functions and controls like 
      these are usually the best solution when their abilities match what you're 
      trying to accomplish. </P>
      <P>Below are links to tools that you can use for port access. To make 
      deciding easier, I've grouped them according to whether they are for use 
      with 16-bit or 32-bit compilers, and which operating systems they support. 
      The list includes freeware, shareware, and commercial products. </P>
      <H3><FONT face=Helvetica>Programming Tools for Port I/O and Interrupts 
      </FONT></H3>
      <H4><FONT face=Helvetica>32-bit-only Tools</FONT></H4>
      <P>Use these in 32-bit programs created with products such as 32-bit VB4, 
      VB5, or VB6.</P>
      <P><EM>For Windows 95/98 and NT (and probably Windows 2000 and Windows 
      XP)</EM> 
      <UL>
        <LI><A 
        href="http://www.sstnet.com/DownLoad/dnload.htm?ID=984936691650">DriverLinx 
        Port I/O</A>. Freeware. Supports: port I/O. From <A 
        href="http://www.sstnet.com/">Scientific Software Tools</A>. John Pappas 
        has written <A 
        href="http://diskdude.cjb.net/software/cbuilder/index.html">TDLPortIO</A>, 
        a freeware interface for DriverLinx for use with C++ Builder, Delphi, 
        and other languages. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.tetradyne.com/">DriverX</A>. Supports: port I/O 
        and interrupts. From Tetradyne Software. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.ez-driver.com/">Ez-Driver Device Driver 
        Toolkit</A> supports port I/O, interrupts, and DMA transfers. Includes a 
        parallel-port experiment board. From Device Drivers International. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.jspayne.com/io/home.html">IO ActiveX 
        Communications module</A>. Shareware. Line-printer-type access to LPT 
        ports.. From JSPayne. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.uct.on.ca/">Ioport &amp; NTPort</A>. 
        Shareware.&nbsp; Supports: port I/O. From Robert Woudsma at Upper Canada 
        Technologies. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.zeecube.com/driver.htm">Parallel Port Direct I/O 
        Access package</A>. Shareware. Supports: port I/O. Supports access under 
        NT by changing the I/O permission map for the process that claims the 
        port. From Peter Shoebridge at Zeecube Software 
        <LI><A href="http://www.entechtaiwan.com/tools.htm">TVicHW32 &amp; 
        TVicPort</A>. Shareware. Supports: port I/O and hardware interrupts. 
        From EnTech Taiwan 
        <LI><A href="http://www.gizmos-n-gadjets.com/ASP/Software.asp">W95pio 
        and Ntpio</A>. Freeware. Supports: port I/O. Intended for use with HP's 
        VEE visual programming language, but adaptable to other uses. Hosted by 
        Gizmos-N-Gadjets. Ntpio is also available from <A 
        href="http://www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?view=softwareupdate&amp;sud-ItemID=1000000407&amp;language=eng&amp;locale=US">Agilent</A>'s 
        website. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.internals.com/">WinIO</A>. Freeware. Supports: 
        port I/O. Includes a DLL, declarations, and C source code. From 
        Internals.com. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.bsquare.com/">WinRT, WinRT-VB, WinDK</A>. 
        Supports: port I/O and hardware interrupts. A variety of products for 
        many uses. From BSQUARE </LI></UL>
      <P><EM>For Windows 95/98 (and probably Windows Me) only</EM> 
      <UL>
        <LI><A name=inpout32></A><A 
        href="http://www.lvr.com/files/inpout32.zip">Inpout32.zip</A>. Freeware. 
        Supports: port I/O. The file contains <EM>inpout32.dll</EM>. I wrote 
        inpout32 in Delphi 2. The zip file includes the DLL, Visual-Basic 
        declarations for <TT>inp </TT>and <TT>out</TT>, documentation, a test 
        program, and the Delphi source code, which includes assembly code for 
        port I/O. If you don't see the DLL file after you unzip the files, you 
        probably have system files hidden. To unhide them, go to My Computer 
        &gt; View &gt; Folder Options &gt; View &gt; Hidden Files and select 
        Show All Files. Instructions for using inpout32 with C++ are in <A 
        href="http://www.lvr.com/jansfaq.htm">Jan's FAQ</A>. This file was a 
        download of the week in <EM>Visual Basic Programmer's Journal</EM>'s VB 
        Zone Development Exchange. Operating sytems: Windows 95/98. From 
        Lakeview Research. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.wdj.com/">Lptaccess</A>. Freeware. This is a VxD 
        that enables an application to reserve port addresses for its exclusive 
        use. Details are in Karen Hazzah's <EM>VxD Advisor</EM> column in the 
        January 1998 issue of <EM>Windows Developer's Journal</EM>. The 
        magazine's website has the program code and info about the magazine. 
        <LI><A 
        href="http://www.customautomationtech.com/honesoftware/port.htm">Port32</A> 
        ActiveX control. Shareware. From Hone Software. 
        <LI>The tutorial <A href="http://www.boondog.com/">Visual Basic DLLs and 
        PC Interfacing</A> is an excellent explanation of how to write your own 
        inpout DLL in Visual C++. From Paul Oh. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.softcircuits.com/sw_tools.htm">Win95io.zip</A>. 
        Freeware. Supports: port I/O. Another inpout DLL. The DLL is just 2048 
        bytes. From Jonathan Wood at Softcircuits. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.massara.snakes.net/easyirq.htm">EasyIrq</A>. 
        Freeware. A driver to handle port interrupts. From Sergio Massara. 
      </LI></UL>
      <P><EM>For Windows NT (and probably Windows 2000 and Windows XP) only</EM> 

      <UL>
        <LI><A href="http://www.direct-io.com/">Direct I/O</A>. Shareware. 
        Incluces interrupt emulation. From Ingenieurbuero Paule. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.zealsoftstudio.com/ntport/">NTPort Library</A>. 
        Shareware. From Zeal SoftStudio. 
        <LI>The <A href="http://www.sybera.de/english/e_sha.htm">SHA 
        toolkit</A>. Freeware. Enables port I/O, hardware interrupts, and DMA 
        from C++ and Delphi applications. From Sybera. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.thesycon.de/">Thesycon</A> has a driver for NT 
        and Windows 2000. In German. 
        <LI><A 
        href="http://www.winsite.com/info/pc/winnt/programr/tinypo20.zip/">Tinyport</A>. 
        Shareware. Supports: port I/O. A ready-to-run kernel-mode device driver. 
        Tinyport complies with the rules that Microsoft has specified for NT 
        drivers, so it doesn't undermine NT's stability and can be used in 
        critical applications. From Manfred Keul. 
        <LI><A 
        href="http://www.embeddedtronics.com/design&amp;ideas.html">UserPort</A> 
        is a kernel mode driver for Windows NT/2000 that gives usermode programs 
        access to I/O ports. From Tomas Franzon. Updated 5/31/01. Inspired by 
        the article "Direct Port I/O and Windows NT" by Dale Roberts, which 
        describes a way to defeat NT's security for port I/O. <A 
        href="http://www.ddj.com/">Dr. Dobbs' Journal</A>, May 1996. The article 
        is available on CD. </LI></UL>
      <H4><FONT face=Helvetica>16-bit-only Tools</FONT></H4>
      <P>Use these with products such as Visual Basic 3 or 16-bit Visual Basic 
      4. 
      <UL>
        <LI><A href="http://www.lvr.com/files/inpout16.zip">inpout16.zip</A> 
        Freeware. Supports: port I/O. Includes an inpout DLL, source code in 
        PowerBasic, and an example VB project. From Lakeview Research. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.lvr.com/files/INPOUT.ZIP">inpout.zip</A>. 
        Freeware. Supports: port I/O. Another inpout DLL. Includes 
        assembly-language source code. From Jay Munro. 
        <LI><A 
        href="http://www.customautomationtech.com/honesoftware/port.htm">Port16</A> 
        ActiveX control. Shareware. From Hone Software. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.softcircuits.com/sw_tools.htm">vbasm.zip</A>. 
        Freeware. Supports: port I/O. A DLL that adds Inp, Out, Peek, Poke, Call 
        Interrupt, and more for accessing ports and memory. From Jonathan Wood 
        at Softcircuits. </LI></UL>
      <H4><FONT face=Helvetica>For 16- and 32-bit Programs (Windows 3.x, Windows 
      95/98)</FONT></H4>
      <UL>
        <LI><A href="http://www.powerbasic.com/">PowerBasic</A> is the source 
        for several products that are useful for applications that access ports. 
        PowerBasic's 16-bit and 32-bit DLL compilers enable you to write and 
        compile DLLs in Basic. The Basic syntax is nearly identical to classic 
        QuickBasic. Because the DLLs are compiled, not interpreted like Visual 
        Basic code, they're fast. The 16-bit edition includes <EM>inp</EM> and 
        <EM>out</EM> for port access. The 32-bit edition allows port access 
        under Windows 95/98 via inline assembly code. There's also a 32-bit 
        Basic console compiler for text-only Windows applications and even a DOS 
        compiler. 
        <LI>"<A href="http://www.coolstf.com/vb.html"><B><I>Using 16-bit DLLs 
        with 32-bit VB</I></B></A>." This article explains, step-by-step, a 
        method for using 16-bit DLLs in 32-bit VB applications. The example 
        described is port I/O with Vbasm (see above). To use this method, you 
        must have both a 16-bit and a 32-bit edition of Visual Basic. From 
        COOL.STF. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.zealsoftstudio.com/vbio/">Vbio.dll</A>. 
        Freeware. From Zeal SoftStudio. </LI></UL>
      <H4><FONT face=Helvetica>Other Driver Information and Sources</FONT></H4>
      <UL>
        <LI>Windows 2000 and Windows Me include a <A 
        href="http://www.lvr.com/usbwin.htm">USB printer driver</A>, and the 
        driver can be distributed for use with Windows 98. 
        <LI>Dan Norton has an FAQ and many links relating to <A 
        href="http://www.chsw.com/ddk">Device Driver Development</A> 
        <LI>The <A href="http://www.asktheoracle.com/driver/">Device Driver 
        Resource Page</A> has many links. From Bob Weiman and Oracle 
        Engineering. 
        <LI><A href="http://www.lvr.com/parport.htm#Warp Nine Engineering">Warp 
        Nine Engineering</A> has IEEE-1284 drivers.<A name="Other Links"></A> 
        </LI></UL></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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