MPLEX is a project I had done as a kid to test integrated circuits and logic gates.
The project consists of an interface, to be connected to the LPT port of the computer, and a software, programmed in QuickBasic, which works in the MsDOS operating system.
The first version of MPLEX's software is completely in text format. It allows you to stimulate a logical level 1 or 0 to the input pins of the integrated circuit and to read the status of the outputs.
Subsequently, after a few months, I also made the graphic version of the software, to make the MPLEX logic gate tester even more complete.
The second version of MPLEX's software also allows you to apply timelines of logical layers 1 and 0, previously stored on files. It also has a small database of predefined logic gates and allows you to test known integrated circuits in less time.
The logic gate test has a double value: the first is, surely, to check if the logic integrated circuits work correctly, before mounting them on a printed circuit board. In fact, experimenting, it happens that a circuit does not work: is the fault of some defective integrated or a more subtle design or connection error?
The second value is experimental: understanding how some integrated circuits work, flip flops, all logical gates AND, OR, XOR, XNOR, etc... even with more inputs than the two. Experimentation is important and allows you to increase your cultural background.
Programming language: Microsoft QuickBasic.
Project start: August 1994. State: for personal use only.
Who you can consult a list of electronic components, and logical integrated circuits.