Programming the Parallel Port: Interfacing the PC for Data Acquisition & Process Control (Paperback)

by Dhananjay Gadre (Author) "Data acquisition is the process of gathering information on a phenomenon by acquiring data on one or more variables..." (more)
Key Phrases: int dport, parallel printer adapter, unsigned char temp, Name Description, Analog Devices, Out Active (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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 under employed printer adapter (that is, the parallel port of your PC, you can turn your computer into a powerful tool for developing microprocessor applications. 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.

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 Magazine, Electronics World, Computers in Physics, and EDN.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: CMP (January 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879305134
• ISBN-13: 978-0879305130
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #802,341 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great I/O interface, March 8, 1999

By A Customer

Don't let the first title word 'Programming' mislead you that this book is only for Programmers! The software diskette accompanying this book only enhances the overall viability of Mr. Gadres' remote data acquisition techniques. The sub-title 'Interfacing the PC for Data Acquisition and Process Control' is a broad claim. His experiments more than backup the claim.

Generally speaking, one would have to research many books in order to centralize the concept of say, reading the temperature of a device, and displaying while storing the value on a PC laptop.

This book starts out with fundamental logic gates for the Novice and smoothly moves ahead into deeper water. An in-depth section on the Enhanced Parallel Port and its' attributes was very educational for me. It is when Mr. Gadre puts his practical A/D circuits to full use, that one can appreciate the work done here. The included software helped me jump right into the operation stage. My favorite part of the book was the idea of utilizing a separate Micro Processor chip to continually perform all of the real time scanning, and using the parallel port to 'catch' the last pre-processed data. This removes a lot of PC overhead and prevents data synchronization loss. I will probably use this method for my home PLC.

All program source codes in 'C' are included with the book. Although Linux was his OS choice, I used my Visual C without any major problems.

Overall, this is an excellent mixture of software and hardware. I recommend this book for any person planning to work in the Embedded Controller Industry. The concepts are solid and are good reference materials.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for C programmers, March 1, 1999

By	Hardware Guy - See all my reviews

This book is full of practical examples in C for interfacing hardware with the printer port. Examples: a speech digitizer, parallel break out box, photometer, data acquisition system, an EPROM emulator, programming an AT89C2051, a waveform generator, and even a Linux data acquisition system with a web-based display!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What your PC must do to sieze the world by the bits., April 21, 1998

By A Customer

This very up-to-date handbook reveals little-known secrets of PC hardware and the software needed to control the outside world with a PC. Suitable background in electronics is given for the book to be used as a textbook, yet the approach is that of a helpful cookbook. Going beyond the PC, the important topic of microcontrollers is addressed. Best of all, important problems in data measurement using PCs can be addressed with very inexpensive hardware easily built (a complete novice might need a Radio Shack style guide to how to do soldering). Software is included in source code form on disk, an added bonus. Reading this book won't get you an EE degree but it might be the next best thing.