Control I/O hardware in a 5V or 3.3V target hardware system directly from a program application running on a PC.

IOTester^® is the easiest way a C/C++ program developer can get direct access to controlling peripheral I/O hardware in an embedded system.

The IOTester^® concept is particularly useful:

• When a PC program application is used for testing embedded I/O hardware during development, production or maintenance.
• When standard PC compiler tools are used for embedded program development. The "embedded" program has control over the real peripheral I/O hardware while running on the PC.
• When testing the "look and feel" of a user interface in an embedded system before the real target processor hardware is ready. For instance, when testing a Graphical User Interface (GUI) using LCD displays, keyboards, touch screens, LED's, etc.
• When evaluating I/O circuitry during the initial product design phase.
• As a sales demonstration tool, for instance when demonstrating LCD display hardware, touch screen hardware, or keyboard hardware.

Using IOTester^® from a C or C++ program running on the PC is very simple:
  1.   Connect IOTester^® to the LPT port
  2.   Add IOTESTER.C to your PC project
  3.   Call the iot_init() function
and you have direct access to I/O registers in your target hardware.
 

IOTester^® "connects" I/O hardware to the PC system in such a way that it can be accessed and controlled directly from a program application running on the PC. From a programmer's point of view, this is done just as easily as if the target I/O was a virtual part of the PC. The IOTester^® software interface essentially consists of initialization functions and a few access functions for the most basic operations on I/O registers: READ, WRITE, AND, OR, XOR on either individual registers or register arrays.
Interrupts from target I/O devices can be serviced on the PC
 

The IOTester-LPT target interface contains 30 pins configurable by the PC application as input, output, or processor bus signals. The same configuration concept is used in most embedded processors.

There is a special "processor bus mode" with direct hardware emulation of the bus control signals normally used by embedded processors. Supports both 8080 bus types (using /RD and /WR clocks) and 6800 bus types (using R/W select and E clock).

The IOTester-LPT address bus width can be configured as being 20, 18, 16, 8, or 2 bits wide. The data bus can be configured as being 8 or 16 bits wide. I/O pins not predefined by the "processor bus mode" configuration can be configured as either input or output pins. One pin can act as interrupt input.

The IOTester-LPT tool is connected to the standard LPT parallel port in the PC (DB25 female) expandable LPT connection. A special IOTester^® access method enables up to 8 devices to be connected in parallel on the same LPT port cable, giving a total of 240 I/O pins which can be configured and controlled from the same PC program application.

Supports 5V and 3.3V target systems. True 5V or 3.3V logic levels on all signal lines. Robust interface with EMC/ESD protection on all signal lines.
 

Link to IOTester-LPT Hardware and Target Interface description
Link to IOTester-LPT Software Interface description

IOTester^® provides direct support of RAMTEX LCD driver libraries:

•   S1D13706 family library + Generic driver for microprocessors with on-chip graphic display controller. (Color)
•   S6D0129 family library (Color)
•   SSD1339 family library (Color)
•   S1D13700 family library (B&W + Grey-scale)
•   SSD0323 family library (Grey-scale)
•   ST7528, ST7529, family library (Grey-scale)
•   UC1611 family library (Grey-scale)
•   STV8105 family library (Grey-scale)
•   T6963 family library (b&w)
•   KS0108B, KS0107B family library (b&w)
•   SED1335, S1D13700 family library (b&w)
•   KS07xx family library (b&w)
•   SED1520 family library (b&w)
•   LC7981 family library (b&w)

See also: IOTester-USB    New IOTester^® tool using an USB interface to the PC.