Parallel port programming on windows XP/2000?

[c d saunter]

Forgot to say - under OS' derived from Windows NT (i.e. NT 3.5, NT4, 2K, 
XP and future) it is not possible to directly access the parallel port, 
this has to be done by a kernel driver, hence the need to install 
something like DLPortIO, which parly exists in the kernel to access the 
hardware, and partly in userland to allow your programs to talk to the 
kernel part.

I find it very annoying just how far PCs have regressed in terms of 
simple IO - back in the 8 bit days it was easy to hook sensors and 
actuators up to a computer without much knowledge and program something 
with them in Basic.  These days it's almost impossible without special kit 
and lots of know how.  Heck, the old BBC Mirco had raw IO capabilites as 
fast as an IBM parallel port, and more flexible to boot.

Progress.  A real pain for r&d types.

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cds

c d saunter (christopher.saunter at durham.ac.uk) wrote:
: Novice Experl (ex at pe.rl) wrote:
: : I'd like to write a simple application that interfaces with the parallel port, and changes the data on it according to keyboard input. I hope I can get it to run under windows xp and / or windows 2000.

: : How can I do this? What do I need to know? It doesn't look like the standard library (the one under my pillow) has that feature. In addition, I've heard that with newer versions of windows don't let you communicate with the port directly, instead requiring interfacing with some driver?

: I always use DLPortIO, makes life almost as simple as GWBasic and a DOS 
: box...  You can either create a custom extension around this or use 
: ctypes.  Generally speaking a custom .dll is only needed if you are your 
: lpt transactions are bidirectional, highly interleaved and high bandwidth.

: DLPortIO: http://www.driverlinx.com/DownLoad/DlPortIO.htm
: ctypes: http://starship.python.net/crew/theller/ctypes/

: Note that DLPortIO is not a Python thing, it's a generic Windows .dll with 
: C and VB examples, and needs installing, so it can't be packaged with 
: py2exe.  I'd guess this is the same for other parallel port accesing 
: tools - I think you need admin privilidges on a Windows NT/2K/XP box to 
: install  DLPortIO, but not to use it.  

: If you decide this is the best route for you and find yourself stuck, drop 
: me an email for some example code.

: ---

: cds