setting up a POS system... help with scanners?

[simulacrakisma]

Hi everyone,

Thanks in advance for reading this.

I'm not a novice, but I'm not a PHP pro, either, nor a programming
expert of any kind, so I'm kind of trying to find a solution that
works for a job that I'm working on.

I have this client that wants to be able to control their web and
retail inventory from one place (I mean, it's the same inventory).
That would require being able to have the "registers" be able to scan
bar coded items and remove them from the database once they are sold.
I've found lots of different scanners, which is fortunate; however,
I'm not sure how I would receive input from a USB/serial/etc barcode
scanner in a PHP web application. Any help? Even a link to a tutorial
or article on the topic would help. Google is turning up very little
except lots of products and software packages and I really would
rather do this myself (unless there's a somewhat professional option
out there that doesn't look like cat poo).

Thanks!

[Martin Mandl - m2m tech support]

On Feb 15, 7:36 pm, "simulacrakisma" <[e-mail]>
wrote:

Hi everyone,

Thanks in advance for reading this.

I'm not a novice, but I'm not a PHP pro, either, nor a programming
expert of any kind, so I'm kind of trying to find a solution that
works for a job that I'm working on.

I have this client that wants to be able to control their web and
retail inventory from one place (I mean, it's the same inventory).
That would require being able to have the "registers" be able to scan
bar coded items and remove them from the database once they are sold.
I've found lots of different scanners, which is fortunate; however,
I'm not sure how I would receive input from a USB/serial/etc barcode
scanner in a PHP web application. Any help? Even a link to a tutorial
or article on the topic would help. Google is turning up very little
except lots of products and software packages and I really would
rather do this myself (unless there's a somewhat professional option
out there that doesn't look like cat poo).

Thanks!

Dear Simulacrakisma,

there are some extensions for the serial port:

http://www.weberdev.com/get_example-4347.html
http://www.mikrocontroller.net/artic..._benutzen_(PHP)

good luck
Martin

------------------------------------------------
online accounting on bash bases
Online Einnahmen-Ausgaben-Rechnung
http://www.ea-geier.at
------------------------------------------------
m2m server software gmbh
http://www.m2m.at

[Kenneth Downs]

simulacrakisma wrote:

Hi everyone,

Thanks in advance for reading this.

I'm not a novice, but I'm not a PHP pro, either, nor a programming
expert of any kind, so I'm kind of trying to find a solution that
works for a job that I'm working on.

A scanner just simulates entry from the keyboard. If the barcode is
'00113442' and they scan it, it will be like the user typed '00113442' at
the keyboard.

The trick is in designing the screen so that it can gracefully handle
situations where a person scans and the screen was not expecting it, stuff
like that.


--
Kenneth Downs
Secure Data Software, Inc.
(Ken)nneth@(Sec)ure(Dat)a(.com)

[simulacrakisma]

Thanks!

I guess more what I'm asking is exactly what you've put forth - how
would I access that input in PHP? I use PHP for the web so I have no
idea what kind of array the info gathered from a USB device would be
stored in. Any clues?

On Feb 15, 2:30 pm, Kenneth Downs <[e-mail]>
wrote:

simulacrakisma wrote:

Hi everyone,

Thanks in advance for reading this.

I'm not a novice, but I'm not a PHP pro, either, nor a programming
expert of any kind, so I'm kind of trying to find a solution that
works for a job that I'm working on.

A scanner just simulates entry from the keyboard. If the barcode is
'00113442' and they scan it, it will be like the user typed '00113442' at
the keyboard.

The trick is in designing the screen so that it can gracefully handle
situations where a person scans and the screen was not expecting it, stuff
like that.

--
Kenneth Downs
Secure Data Software, Inc.
(Ken)nneth@(Sec)ure(Dat)a(.com)

[larry]

Technically you would have a single text field input on your POS
system. you type and enter (or scan) something and then press return,
and process the data.

Depending on what is scanned or typed it does an action. (you can
also have button inputs, which can be used in addition to the text
field.

I.E. you scan a barcode on a package (the form POSTs it), the system
next determines it as it as a UPS code and then goes and checks the
inventory and adds the record into the session or whatever add it to
the tallying list.

Make a mistake, have a price change, etc., have a control code, like a
pre-printed scan for a cancel code, scan that to instruct your program
DB to cancel the next scanned item, then scan the barcode of the
canceled item, etc.

You will need to make a whole set of control codes for such things as
discounts returns, etc. as well as a system for processing the
collected data once you have the checkout complete.

That's about the basics of it.

[simulacrakisma]

Okay, so it treats the scanner like input from a keyboard?
If so, that's awesome and easy.

Thanks so much!

On Feb 21, 11:09 pm, [e-mail] wrote:

Technically you would have a single text field input on yourPOS
system. you type and enter (or scan) something and then press return,
and process the data.

Depending on what is scanned or typed it does an action. (you can
also have button inputs, which can be used in addition to the text
field.

I.E. you scan a barcode on a package (the form POSTs it), the system
next determines it as it as a UPS code and then goes and checks the
inventory and adds the record into the session or whatever add it to
the tallying list.

Make a mistake, have a price change, etc., have a control code, like a
pre-printed scan for a cancel code, scan that to instruct your program
DB to cancel the next scanned item, then scan the barcode of the
canceled item, etc.

You will need to make a whole set of control codes for such things as
discounts returns, etc. as well as a system for processing the
collected data once you have the checkout complete.

That's about the basics of it.