program the LPT port using Java. Really?

Question

Conditions:

OS is Windows XP

have LPT port

LED light bulb is connected to the LPT port

Necessary:

using Java to make the bulb flash Is it possible? Interested in real, proven solutions.

Has anyone done this?

I have our few options: the use javax.comm and RXTX. How successful is to use these solutions?

Answer 1

There used to be a nice Java parallel port library available at this URL:

http://www.geocities.com/Juanga69/parport/

It seems to be gone now, however you can still access it through the Internet Archive's wayback machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080523134328/http://www.geocities.com/Juanga69/parport/

The files can also be downloaded from here (Windows and Linux versions available, binaries and source code included):

http://www.ioi.knaw.nl/~heimel/computers/parport/

Note that for Windows XP you'll need to install a kernel-mode driver such as UserPort. This also can be downloaded from the sites above.