parallel port interfacing - 16f84

[skimask]

I haven't used any other PIC.[........suppose if the incoming data is say "2" whose binary equivalent is 00000010, so now how to read this value on PORTA pins & store it in a variable?

At the risk of being wrong...'cause it's entirely possible...
Before you go messing with a parallel port and blowing it up, I'd suggest you go for Mr. Blinky LED first, then throw a button or two into the mix, add an LCD, and so on.
If you don't know how to assign a value from a port to a variable, then how do you expect to do any handshaking with a parallel port?