by
Theo VerelstBecause I prototyped a parallel port interface on a PC running a webserver based on
tclhttpd, and made some procedures for driving the display using the driver on the
parallel port page, I though I'd not just make a
Webserver combined with bwise, let the webserver drive the display so as to follow the hit-counts when the screen is not on, or in use for other things, or to see if it things still run.
I used my adapted tclhttpd script, which opens a console window, and used the following code in the console, so as to run this fun extension live, without interrupting the server. One day I might make a page on
saving the state of tclhttpd as well, which can be done reasonably, too.
load lpttcl
set run_display 1
proc disnum { {n} } {
# the numbers 0-9 in the coding for how I connected up the segments to the bits
set dis {192 252 146 152 172 137 129 220 128 136}
set a [string index $n end-2]
set b [string index $n end-1]
set c [string index $n end]
# 'open' our control register
lpt_wrctrl 0
# select the rightmost display unit to become active
lpt_wrdata 32
# 'open' the display channel(s)
lpt_wrctrl 1
# figure out but pattern for the rightmost digit
if {$c=={}} { set o 255 } { set o [lindex $dis $c] }
# And write it to the display memory
lpt_wrdata $o
lpt_wrctrl 0
lpt_wrdata 64
lpt_wrctrl 1
if {$b=={}} { set o 255 } { set o [lindex $dis $b] }
lpt_wrdata $o
lpt_wrctrl 0
lpt_wrdata 128
lpt_wrctrl 1
if {$a=={}} { set o 255 } { set o [lindex $dis $a] }
lpt_wrdata $o
}
# now let an update happen every 2 seconds
proc show_hits {{t 2000}} {
global run_display ::counter::T-urlhits
disnum ${::counter::T-urlhits(N)}
if {$run_display > 0} {after $t "show_hits $t"}
}
# do it
show_hitsI might these days (wrote this Dec 1 2003) leave the counter on a
webcam during nights (Amsterdam time zone) if you want to check it out working 'live':
http://82.168.209.239:8088
use 'open Url' in windows media player
mms://82.168.209.239:8088 address for mplayer
I might want to make a blinking second dot as well, to see the server process is active.
The picture above is an actual digital photograph of the working display, except I would need more digits (only the lowest 3 significant are shown)...
