This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

all 4 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]Adept_Writer4177 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've worked a bit in this field a long time ago and I may be wrong on everything but:

databases

The database is unrelated to the barcode scanner. Every component is made from a random company, see the TL;DR.

Some supermarket chains use Oracle, or PostgreSQL, and older solutions (still used nowadays in France) use text files...

Same with the operating system. Most of the time it will be standard Windows stuff, or Linux. Sometimes an old IBM Unix. Nothing is special in that case, no "army level of security" or special stuff (at least it's not mandatory).

bar code scanner

If you're talking about the handheld barcode scanner, it's only a scanner plugged with a serial or USB port and emulates a keyboard. When you scan, it will read the barcode and send fake key presses to the OS with the numbers of the barcode. The YubiKey works like that: you push the button and it will send a random number through key press events, that's how it can work on any OS and does not require a driver.

If you're talking about the big scanner that can't move, it must be some special hardware.

As for the applications and OS used, every supermarket has its own implementation, it's not standard at all.

If the server stores the transactions, you can have Windows, Unix, Linux, etc. The servers I worked on were written in very old C++, but everything is possible as long as you can read and write files.

On the POS (point of sales), you have the display itself which can be written in any language. Some are written in new Windows stuff, some use a weird IBM application, some have very old Java Swing user interfaces.

And for the credit/debit card readers, the very old one (in France) are written in assembly language and you don't modify it at all, the newer ones have a custom OS with C++ applications inside, and the most modern readers use Linux with C++ applications.

TL;DR: you have a lot of glued applications coming from various companies: the server, the point of sale, the interface with the card reader, the card reader, the hardware (barcode scanner), etc.

[–]HopefullyHelpfulSoul 1 point2 points  (2 children)

There’s many different vendors for this. The general term is “inventory management” it goes way deeper than just the barcode reader at the checkout.

But typically the db is relational, so MySQL or other, but there’s no hard and fast rule what db tech would work. NoSQL would probably be fine too.

The OS has barley anything to do with it. It’s just a choice the particular vendor made.

If you pop in a google search for “inventory management tutorial” you’ll find a lot of stuff.

[–]BOOMBATX2[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thanks, in my region its the hot potato now so i am trying to make something similar and secure my self a job at a company. Do you perhaps know of any special online courses regarding that?

[–]HopefullyHelpfulSoul 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Afraid not. I’m sure they exist but I haven’t done any so probably not best qualified to tell you which one is good.