BorlandTalk.com

Paul_R · Guest

Hi - I am looking for any information on incorporating BarCode scanner into
Delphi written application..

Any information would be very helpful (product / programming solutions)

Thank you
Paul

Pierre le Riche · Guest

Hi Paul,

There are two kinds of bar code scanners that I have come across: The
keyboard wedge type and the serial interface type. I haven't seen a usb
version in this part of the world yet.

The keyboard wedge type is very easy to use. It uses a splitter cable to
share the same socket as your keyboard and when you scan a barcode it passes
the characters through as if you have typed them. It's simple, but when your
program is used for other data entry as well it becomes a hassle, because
now you have to focus the right control every time before you scan a bar
code or the bar code "keystrokes" go to the wrong edit or control.

I personally prefer the serial port type, since it eliminates the confusion
between data from the keyboard and data from the scanner. All you need is a
component that allows you to communicate directly with the serial port and
you're set to go. Of course, you need to know the correct port settings of
the scanner for it to work properly (baud rate, parity, stop bits). The free
AsyncPro components include a serial port component, but there's many other
free ones out there as well. www.Torry.net is a good place to start looking.

Regards,
Pierre

Andrew Gabb · Guest

Most scanners provide both a 'keyboard' interface and a serial
interface. They are very configurable but will normally provide the
barcode that's been read as a text string. Where's the problem?

Andrew

Paul_R wrote:

Paul_R · Guest

There is no problem..just trying to gather some information..are you saying
that vendors would provide me with interface/sdk to read serial port data or
do I have to do that on my own?

Paul

"Andrew Gabb" <agabb (AT) tpgi (DOT) com.au> wrote

Erwien Saputra · Guest

Paul_R wrote:

Bob Murdoch · Guest

Paul,

"Paul_R" <spam (AT) cfl (DOT) rr.com> wrote

Andrew Gabb · Guest

Adam Goetz · Guest

What kind of scanner - Wedge, Serial, Batch, RF?

Wedge - you have to do nothing, the scanners output is treated like a
keyboard sequence. Wedge scanners are typically output only devices. Comes
in two flavours, wired and rf. RF requires slightly more setting up (simply
to make sure unit and base are talking)

Serial - you have to have something monitoring the serial port that
understands the data stream the scanner puts out. Serial comes in two
flavours, wired serial and RF serial. RF requires slightly more setting up
(simply to make sure unit and base are talking). Serial can allow two way
communication (so depending on the scanner you can tell it display data,
beep, flash leds etc)

Batch - the scanner is a full computer that you program. Data transfer is
typically via serial connection. You need a serial program on the PC that
can understand whichever protocol the scanner is trying to send on.

RF - the scanner is a full computer and has TCP/IP stacks inbuilt. The
scanner is typically programmed to talk to a specific TCP port, where a
server program is waiting for the information. There are two sub-varities,
Thin client and thick client. Thin client has as much of the code on the
server end as possible - makes updating the program easier, but causes
trouble if the unit leaves RF range. Thick client programs are typically
designed to continue to work if the unit leaves RF range and can recover
later.

David Farrell-Garcia · Guest

Paul_R wrote:

Mike Saunders · Guest