[Info-vax] Hand scanners and VMS.

[Jan-Erik Söderholm]

Den 2022-07-25 kl. 03:38, skrev 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)

Today it's is hand-scanner ---> QIOW in the applicaation.

Maybe not as "cool" but simple and 100% reliable.

For the "smart" devices like the Zebra TC-line, it is:

Zebra -> WASD -> Python script (that also does the business logic).

Works well and of course fine when the user needs some dialogs
and to enter more data then what the barcodes contains.

Jan-Erik.


> 
> sounded cool.
> 
> But I don't know about scanners and I don't know about
> your environment.
> 
> Arne
> 
>