...

We can do this directly from a parallel port - this just involves connecting the right pins on the parallel port to the right pins on the Mini:

My implementation:
Image Added

The above design is taken from here. The tool we use for programming, AVRDude, calls this design dapa.

...

• The simplest one consists of an ATTiny2313 chip and a few passives. Very nice design. I have not used this.
• A more complex one uses a USB-to-serial converter chip. I have not used this one either. This one has two advantages over the simple one above (which probably do not make up for the added complexity):
  • The hardware design is similar to the Mini, so with this guy's firmware, it may be possible to use one Mini board to program another
  • It implements the full STK500 spec, so it is possible to do things like timer calibations
• In addition, Atmel makes the AVRATAVRIPSMKII programming cable, available from Digikey. It's fairly inexpensive (~$30), and works well. It uses a 6-pin header (Atmel's standard) instead of the 5 pin header we use (standard on hobbyist boards)[3]. The 6th pin takes VCC, which we need to run from the main header. I've used this to program the Mini. I just ran 5 hookup wires from the plug on the MKII to the header on the Mini, and so that I wouldn't forget the configuration, I put hot glue around the wires. The sixth wire goes to the VCC pin on the Mini:
  Image Added

Footnotes

1.

Anchor
zener zener

We actually only need the zener diode clipping circuit on the output pins of the serial port. I usually place them on all the pins so that I can't accidentally damage something in the case of a wiring error. One could do this with the ground connection as well.

...