Re: Printing port question

When we wrote the programs back in the early nineties, we would watch them
manipulate the common stock data bases on our Compaq desktops (40 mb hard
drives) with lightening slowness. With today's faster chips, the
calculations are just about complete after hitting the Enter key!

Looks like we will keep our maturing printers around for a while. Thanks
for the response.

Gordon Biggar



"Mistoffolees" <mistyfac01@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e2o0ZOsZHHA.1220@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gordon Biggar wrote:

I have a series of dBase programs (DOS) that are almost as old as I am.
I
am able to execute them in Windows 2000 via Start\Run. The HP printer
that
I am using has both parallel port and USB connections. When I print
from a
dBase program, it uses the parallel connection (through LPT1, I
believe).

Since I would suspect that the newer printers on the market have only
USB
connections, is it possible to print, using a DOS-based program, through
a
USB connection? I am assuming that dBase defaults to the LPT1 port. Is
there a way to trick the program so that it prints through a USB port?

For some of the programs, I do not have the original source code,
although I
don't know if that would be of any value to me. I don't look forward to
redesigning the programs, written some fifteen years ago, since their
propose is as valid today as it was back when they were developed.
Seems
like make-work. Of course, I could always have two printers plugged in
(one
having the parallel port connection), but that only defers the problem.

Although this could be construed as a dBase-related problem, I am hoping
that someone who is familiar with printer ports, etc. might be able to
provide me with a fix.

Thanks in advance.

Gordon Biggar
Houston, Texas



FYI, there is nothing better than the old Borland dBase V for DOS.
It is still faster than anything in Windows, more versatile than
Visual FoxPro, and its compilers make SQL report generation easier
than SyBase. And there will always be parallel printers on LPT1...
the high end stuff does not disappear quickly. Nothing wrong with
keeping a machine around just to get the job done...we do, with
archived computers still running MS-DOS through Windows XP and
even an ancient black-ribbon, wide-bed line-printer.

As for printing with a USB printer...the programming does not exist
to convert the output for an USB printer in DOS. Remember, USB wasn't
even around during that time.


.

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