Barcode scanning help desperately needed!

[jim]

I need to have 2 simple barcode reader applications finished by midnight
tonight. I have never written any barcode reader software and need any help
that you may be able to offer.

I do not know what type of barcode the user will have, so I need to be able
to accept input from any industry standard barcode reader.

I need to check the barcodes scanned to see if they are in a database of
acceptable barcodes and simply show ACCEPT or REJECT on the screen. I can
handle the database stuff just fine, but I am wondering if there is any
barcode reader code or components that I may need to make this thing work -
or does the barcode reader simply send in the read data in a standard
numerical format.

If it sends in the data in a standard numerical format, what might that be
or would it depend on the scanner?

Also, is it just as simple to build the barcode reader app as a webpage that
automatically displays a result for every barcode scanned? (I really don;t
want them to have to "press enter" for each scan. It would really slow
things down.)

Thanks so much for your help. I'll be building and populating the database,
but I'll check here periodically throughout the day.

Thanks so much for your help in this crunch!

jim

 

[Mohamed Mansour]

Hi,

Take a look at this:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/graphics/ean_13_barcodes.aspx
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/GDI-plus/postnetbarcode.aspx
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/graphics/upc_a_barcode.aspx

Of course, since it is LGPL, you have to include the author somewhere in
your app.

 

[Jack Jackson]

I need to have 2 simple barcode reader applications finished by midnight
tonight. I have never written any barcode reader software and need any help
that you may be able to offer.

I do not know what type of barcode the user will have, so I need to be able
to accept input from any industry standard barcode reader.

I need to check the barcodes scanned to see if they are in a database of
acceptable barcodes and simply show ACCEPT or REJECT on the screen. I can
handle the database stuff just fine, but I am wondering if there is any
barcode reader code or components that I may need to make this thing work -
or does the barcode reader simply send in the read data in a standard
numerical format.

If it sends in the data in a standard numerical format, what might that be
or would it depend on the scanner?

The barcode readers that I have dealt with simply generate keyboard
input, and most will optionally append Enter at the end of the
barcode.

Usually the reader will be configured not to return any synch
characters that are part of the barcode, so you will get only the data
you need.

 

[jim]

The barcode readers that I have dealt with simply generate keyboard
input, and most will optionally append Enter at the end of the
barcode.

Usually the reader will be configured not to return any synch
characters that are part of the barcode, so you will get only the data
you need.

Thanks so much for the info!

jim

 

[jim]

These links seem to be pointing to how to make/print barcodes instead of how
to read them, but I appreciate the links. They should come in handy.

jim

 

[JDS]

I need to have 2 simple barcode reader applications finished by midnight
tonight. I have never written any barcode reader software and need any help
that you may be able to offer.

I do not know what type of barcode the user will have, so I need to be able
to accept input from any industry standard barcode reader.

I need to check the barcodes scanned to see if they are in a database of
acceptable barcodes and simply show ACCEPT or REJECT on the screen. I can
handle the database stuff just fine, but I am wondering if there is any
barcode reader code or components that I may need to make this thing work -
or does the barcode reader simply send in the read data in a standard
numerical format.

If it sends in the data in a standard numerical format, what might that be
or would it depend on the scanner?

Also, is it just as simple to build the barcode reader app as a webpage that
automatically displays a result for every barcode scanned? (I really don;t
want them to have to "press enter" for each scan. It would really slow
things down.)

Thanks so much for your help. I'll be building and populating the database,
but I'll check here periodically throughout the day.

Thanks so much for your help in this crunch!

jim

The data allowed within the barcode will depend on the barcode type;
e.g. EAN barcodes will only allow numeric values, other barcodes allow
alpha characters. Terminating characters depend on the barcode scanner
and how it is configured; typically they allow you to specify whether
CR or CR/LF and I think the Enter key is represented by an extended
ASCII code (don't quote me on that last one!) - I'd suggest you allow
in code for different terminating characters and provide an easy way
of changing from one to another.

The physical connection will also depend on the barcode type. Typical
is a Wedge cable that allows the barcode data to be merged with the
keyboard input; this makes it easy in developing the application
because you just treat the incoming data as if it was input from the
keyboard. However, other interfaces are also available, for example
RS232, USB and Bluetooth and these would require a lot more effort to
handle.

HTH!

 

[JDS]

The data allowed within the barcode will depend on the barcode type;
e.g. EAN barcodes will only allow numeric values, other barcodes allow
alpha characters. Terminating characters depend on the barcode scanner
and how it is configured; typically they allow you to specify whether
CR or CR/LF and I think the Enter key is represented by an extended
ASCII code (don't quote me on that last one!) - I'd suggest you allow
in code for different terminating characters and provide an easy way
of changing from one to another.

The physical connection will also depend on the barcode type. Typical
is a Wedge cable that allows the barcode data to be merged with the
keyboard input; this makes it easy in developing the application
because you just treat the incoming data as if it was input from the
keyboard. However, other interfaces are also available, for example
RS232, USB and Bluetooth and these would require a lot more effort to
handle.

HTH!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

EDIT: sorry, correction to the above: the physical connection will
depend on what has been specified for the scanner and is independent
of the barcode type.

 

[Jack Jackson]

The data allowed within the barcode will depend on the barcode type;
e.g. EAN barcodes will only allow numeric values, other barcodes allow
alpha characters. Terminating characters depend on the barcode scanner
and how it is configured; typically they allow you to specify whether
CR or CR/LF and I think the Enter key is represented by an extended
ASCII code (don't quote me on that last one!) - I'd suggest you allow
in code for different terminating characters and provide an easy way
of changing from one to another.

The physical connection will also depend on the barcode type. Typical
is a Wedge cable that allows the barcode data to be merged with the
keyboard input; this makes it easy in developing the application
because you just treat the incoming data as if it was input from the
keyboard. However, other interfaces are also available, for example
RS232, USB and Bluetooth and these would require a lot more effort to
handle.

HTH!

I have used a USB scanner whose output appeared as keyboard input with
no special handling in the app.