Database Development & Barcoding

Elides13

I am currently developing a client/project/information database for the company I work for. We sometimes have a need to store stock for our clients for quick deployment to sites. I wanted to implement a bar-code system for our stores to show our clients that we have the capability to fulfill their logistics needs as well as keeping proper control of the stock for our own purposes.

I also want to be able to link the system to our database so when we are planning/tracking projects we can link stock to a particular project or even site and therefore make deployment a more streamlined process.

Can a bar-coding system like this be developed & linked to an existing database or do you just have to go out and buy a bar-coding system which is kept separate from your project databases?

Any help would be appreciated.

drag0n79

As you probably know barcodes are just another way to display numeric/alpha-numeric strings (for 1 dimensional barcodes) and other types of data (for 2 dimensional barcodes).

So for example, in your database, if you have stock items that have their own unique ID, or that have their own product IDs, these values can be easliy translated to a barcode, once you have the correct font available to display them. You could use Crystal Reports for connecting to your database and printing out your barcodes.

For actually scanning the barcode there are many choices, from a USB barcode scanner connected to a PC, to a handheld device with scanner attachment. So in your case it would be very straightforward to link to your existing database.

The easiest solution is to use a USB scanner connected to a PC. If you go down the route of a handheld device then you will have to come up with a way of connecting the handheld to your database - either wirelessly or by using activesync/WMDC, and the time specnt working on that could be prohibitive depending on how much time you think this solution will save.

jimmycrackcorm

Most barcode readers can emulate the keyboard so you can simply use a normal text input box that the barcode scan will enter the text. You can then do a lookup on that. Generally the scanners will add a carriage return for you but some have to be configured to do this as part of a successful read.

Essentially you don't have to do anything to support reading barcodes other than accept text input.

For storing the barcodes where a user might key in the code instead of scanning as in can't scan properly then you might want to add ean-13 crc validation checks or whatever format you are using.

Elides13

Thanks for your help guys. Every bit helps