94 lines
2.8 KiB
Text
94 lines
2.8 KiB
Text
|
|
||
|
Parallel link cable for Texas Instruments handhelds
|
||
|
===================================================
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Author: Romain Lievin
|
||
|
Homepage: http://lpg.ticalc.org/prj_tidev/index.html
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
INTRODUCTION:
|
||
|
|
||
|
This is a driver for the very common home-made parallel link cable, a cable
|
||
|
designed for connecting TI8x/9x graphing calculators (handhelds) to a computer
|
||
|
or workstation (Alpha, Sparc). Given that driver is built on parport, the
|
||
|
parallel port abstraction layer, this driver is architecture-independent.
|
||
|
|
||
|
It can also be used with another device plugged on the same port (such as a
|
||
|
ZIP drive). I have a 100MB ZIP and both of them work fine!
|
||
|
|
||
|
If you need more information, please visit the 'TI drivers' homepage at the URL
|
||
|
above.
|
||
|
|
||
|
WHAT YOU NEED:
|
||
|
|
||
|
A TI calculator and a program capable of communicating with your calculator.
|
||
|
|
||
|
TiLP will work for sure (since I am its developer!). yal92 may be able to use
|
||
|
it by changing tidev for tipar (may require some hacking...).
|
||
|
|
||
|
HOW TO USE IT:
|
||
|
|
||
|
You must have first compiled parport support (CONFIG_PARPORT_DEV): either
|
||
|
compiled in your kernel, either as a module.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Next, (as root):
|
||
|
|
||
|
modprobe parport
|
||
|
modprobe tipar
|
||
|
|
||
|
If it is not already there (it usually is), create the device:
|
||
|
|
||
|
mknod /dev/tipar0 c 115 0
|
||
|
mknod /dev/tipar1 c 115 1
|
||
|
mknod /dev/tipar2 c 115 2
|
||
|
|
||
|
You will have to set permissions on this device to allow you to read/write
|
||
|
from it:
|
||
|
|
||
|
chmod 666 /dev/tipar[0..2]
|
||
|
|
||
|
Now you are ready to run a linking program such as TiLP. Be sure to configure
|
||
|
it properly (RTFM).
|
||
|
|
||
|
MODULE PARAMETERS:
|
||
|
|
||
|
You can set these with: modprobe tipar NAME=VALUE
|
||
|
There is currently no way to set these on a per-cable basis.
|
||
|
|
||
|
NAME: timeout
|
||
|
TYPE: integer
|
||
|
DEFAULT: 15
|
||
|
DESC: Timeout value in tenth of seconds. If no data is available once this
|
||
|
time has expired then the driver will return with a timeout error.
|
||
|
|
||
|
NAME: delay
|
||
|
TYPE: integer
|
||
|
DEFAULT: 10
|
||
|
DESC: Inter-bit delay in micro-seconds. A lower value gives an higher data
|
||
|
rate but makes transmission less reliable.
|
||
|
|
||
|
These parameters can be changed at run time by any program via ioctl(2) calls
|
||
|
as listed in ./include/linux/ticable.h.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Rather than write 50 pages describing the ioctl() and so on, it is
|
||
|
perhaps more useful you look at ticables library (dev_link.c) that demonstrates
|
||
|
how to use them, and demonstrates the features of the driver. This is
|
||
|
probably a lot more useful to people interested in writing applications
|
||
|
that will be using this driver.
|
||
|
|
||
|
QUIRKS/BUGS:
|
||
|
|
||
|
None.
|
||
|
|
||
|
HOW TO CONTACT US:
|
||
|
|
||
|
You can email me at roms@lpg.ticalc.org. Please prefix the subject line
|
||
|
with "TIPAR: " so that I am certain to notice your message.
|
||
|
You can also mail JB at jb@jblache.org. He packaged these drivers for Debian.
|
||
|
|
||
|
CREDITS:
|
||
|
|
||
|
The code is based on tidev.c & parport.c.
|
||
|
The driver has been developed independently of Texas Instruments.
|