Why purchase expensive add-on cards or bus interfaces when you can develop effective and economical data acquisition and process controls using C programs? Using the printer adapter (that is, the parallel port of your PC), you can turn your computer into a powerful tool for developing microprocessor applications.

In Programming the Parallel Port: Interfacing the PC for Data Acquisition and Process Control, you will learn how to build a complete data acquisition system and such varied applications as a CCD camera controller, a photometer interface, and a wave form generator. The book also covers the Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP), the Extended Capabilities Port (ECP), interfacing analog to digital converters, and data acquisition under Linux. This extraordinary software approach to interfacing through the parallel port will be especially appealing to programmers involved in control systems design and device development, as well as to those who work with real-time and embedded systems.

308 pages, softcover

Contents

• Introduction
• How to Build a Computer Interface
• The Parallel Printer Adapter
• Programming and Using the Parallel Adapter
• The Enhanced Parallel and Extended Cabability Ports
• Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog
• Measuring Time and Frequency
• Complete Data Acquisition Systems
• Expanding Port Bits of the Parallel Port
• Using the Parallel Port to Host an EPROM Emulator
• The Parallel Port as a Host Interface Port
• Hosting a Device Programmer
• Waveform Generation Using the Parallel Adapter
• Data Acquisition under Linux
• Appendices: PC Architecture
• References
• Index

About the Author

Dhananjay V. Gadre wrote these parallel port programs while developing instruments for the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Ganeshkind, India. He is currently on leave from the IUCAA to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Idaho. Gadre's publication credits include Dr. Dobb's Journal, Embedded Systems Programming, Electronics World, Computers in Physics, and EDN.