[Info-vax] Hand scanners and VMS.

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 7/22/2022 11:48 AM, Jan-Erik Söderholm wrote:
> Den 2022-07-22 kl. 15:41, skrev Arne Vajhøj:
>> On 7/22/2022 9:15 AM, Jan-Erik Söderholm wrote:
>>> Den 2022-07-22 kl. 14:24, skrev Bill Gunshannon:
>>>> On 7/21/22 23:55, Dave Froble wrote:
>>>>> No keyboard, mouse, and monitor.  Just an app that waits for the 
>>>>> scanner input, connects to an app on VMS, sends the scanner info, 
>>>>> then goes back to waiting for the scanner.  If interested, we can 
>>>>> discuss how to set something like this up.
>>>>
>>>> Sounds like a job for a RaspberryPI.
>>>>
>>>> Could even do it with an Arduino, but that would take more work.
>>>
>>> If you have read the other replies, RasPi has already been suggested.
>>> And I also replied that I do not find it suitable for an assembly line
>>> environment. And it must standard HW that you can buy from-the-shelf.
>>>
>>> This should not be rocket science. There must be many that have needs
>>> to report products in different stages in assembly cells along the line.
>>>
>>> I have now also looked at the Moxa devices and they seem to have boxes
>>> that matched what we need and they are also easy to find in the market.
>>> Such as the “Nport 5110”. Cheap enough, I’ll probably buy one and test…
>>
>> Let me start by saying that I know nothing about current scanner
>> technology.
>>
>> But I would have thougth you could get a scanner that:
>> - communicated via WiFi
>> - when scanned made a web service call with the scanned
>>    data
>>
>> This is really the PC/RaspberryPI solution - I am just
>> expecting that computer to be builtin to the scanner
>> itself.
> 
> No, have not seen that. The "wire-less" models usualy uses
> BT but only against its own combined "base-station/charger".
> And *that* one can then have RS232 or in some cases Wifi.
> 
> But this is still talking about traditional barcode scanners.
> And the most common (I'd say 90 % of all models offered) are
> USB, most of the rest are RS232.
> 
> Then there are other tools like the Zebra TC-line, and we are
> using them for other purposes where we need much more input
> from the user (not only the barcode content).
> 
> Zebra TCxx is a rugged "phone" running Android. It also have
> a professional camera based barcode scanner, not using the
> standard camera in the phone. You write a web page that will
> make up the "application" in the device.
> 
> https://www.zebra.com/gb/en/products/mobile-computers/handheld/tc5x-series.html 
> 
> 
> But that is a completely different application architecture
> on the server side and we need to have VMS accounts setup and
> other extra administration.
> 
> And yes, in most cases where something is going to be scanned,
> there is also a PC running some GUI where the data should end
> up, so USB is just fine.

OK.

I was just thinking that:

smart scanner--->some Python web service running on VMS or Linux or 
Windows--->message queue--->applications (Cobol on VMS, whatever on 
Linux, whatever on Windows)

sounded cool.

But I don't know about scanners and I don't know about
your environment.

Arne