[Sussex] Barcode scanning and EPOS

[John Crowhurst]

> Geoff,
>
> Thanks for the info. It would be great to use a Linux EPOS.
> It is all very new to me.  I dont know much (read anything!) about this
> stuff.  A barcode scanner is absolutely vital to me as fine tuned stock
> control on 'sale or return' goods will  make or break me!  Do you have
> to create your  own bar 'codes' or are they all standard?   I have seen
> kbarcode. I'll have to look into all this!
>
> Cheers,
> Dominic

I bought a barcode scanner in December, the trickiest thing was getting it
to work (its an old serial device), it needed a null modem to work.

Barcodes have a set standard behind them, but there are many different
formats of barcode.

EAN and UPC are the most common formats used in the retail trade. There
are barcodes that are purely numeric, and some that are alphanumeric.

The latest format is called 2D (like PDF417), where the barcode can be
scanned in any direction (left/right, up/down, diagonally), and most of
the barcode can be damaged and still readable, and it can store a vast
amount of information.

There are online barcode creator sites:
http://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/index.php
http://www.dlsoft.com/services/bmakerp/bconline.htm
http://www.waspbarcode.com/Software/barcode_maker.asp

--
John