| Microsoft Point of Service for .NET Overview |
Microsoft Point of Service for .NET class library features at a glance:
Microsoft Point of Service (POS) for .NET is a set of tools and class libraries that allows .NET applications to be easily integrated with POS peripheral devices. POS for .NET provides an open device driver architecture that is based upon the Unified POS industry standard. POS for .NET supports all 36 device categories specified by the standard, including barcode scanners, magnetic stripe readers (MSR), radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, receipt printers, scales, line displays, and more. Microsoft POS for .NET is supported on Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, Windows Embedded for Point of Service, Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Business, and Windows Vista Ultimate.
POS for .NET enables POS systems to seamlessly interface with peripheral devices to efficiently perform POS transactions. In addition, POS for .NET allows for quick deployment of retail device peripherals using plug-n-play and easier peripheral updates and lowers system support costs through streamlined integration.
Microsoft POS for .NET addresses the needs of independent software vendors (ISV), who develop software that interfaces with POS peripherals, and of independent hardware vendors (IHV), who want to provide powerful capabilities to ISVs with minimal investment. Regardless if you are an ISV or IHV, POS for .NET can help lower the cost of your product development while providing the most advanced capabilities. |
| Standards | Microsoft POS for .NET is Microsoft’s implementation of the industry’s Unified Point of Service (UPOS) version 1.12 standards for the .NET platform. Microsoft POS for .NET is also backward compatible with existing implementations of UPOS on the Microsoft Windows platform, named OLE for Point of Service (OPOS). |
| Comparing Point of Service for .NET and OPOS | OPOS is an implementation of UPOS for Microsoft Windows and is based on Component Object Model (COM) technology. POS for .NET constitutes an improved implementation of UPOS for Microsoft Windows, based on .NET. In comparison to OPOS, POS for .NET increases productivity of developers of both POS applications and service objects by providing all the benefits of .NET managed code while at the same time exposing a set of easy-to-use interfaces and base classes.
POS for .NET is backward compatible with the 15 most common OPOS device categories. This allows you to take full advantage of new device categories as they become available while maintaining your investment in legacy hardware. Applications developed using POS for .NET are able to seamlessly interact with both modern .NET service objects and legacy OPOS service objects.
For more information about UPOS and OPOS, go to http://www.nrf-arts.org/. |
| Key Components of Microsoft Point of Service for .NET | Microsoft POS for .NET consists of two assemblies, Microsoft.PointOfService.dll and Microsoft.PointOfService.ControlBase.dll. |
| Microsoft.PointOfService.dll assembly | Defines programming interface contracts between a POS application and service objects interface classes for the more than 35 POS device types defined by UPOS. Exposes all of the standard functionality defined for each device by UPOS. Microsoft.PointOfService.dll contains the following classes: |
| POSCommon - Contains programming interface contracts for all UPOS Common Properties and Methods.
POSExplorer - Provides POS applications with information about what POS devices are available on the system and instantiates service objects for devices requested by applications. Also provides a way for POS applications to receive Plug-n-Play notifications when POS devices are attached or removed from the system.
POSException et al classes - Used to communicate error conditions to the POS application via exceptions.
POSEventArgs et al classes - Used for the management and delivery of POS events.
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| | Generic constructor - Creates an instance of the class and initializes basic device statistics.
Programmatic access to the CommonProperties helper class - Allows a service object to access without required state verification and update POSCommon properties that are designated read-only for the application.
Code - Manages state verification of the device. Checks to ensure the device has been opened, claimed, or enabled by the application prior to accessing properties or executing methods.
Code - Manages and delivers events to the application.
Protected methods - Manages and updates hardware-based statistics.
Dispose methods - Based on the .NET Framework IDisposable architecture.
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| For the nine fully supported POS devices, the Microsoft.PointOfService.ControlBase.dll also contains a set of “base” classes. These classes derive from the corresponding device basic class and contain Microsoft’s more fully implemented UPOS-compliant code for the device. When deriving from these base classes, service objects typically need only provide implementations for the Open and CheckHealth methods, as well as any methods that handle access to the hardware device itself, such as the physical opening of the cash drawer, the clearing of hardware device memory, and so on. Windows Point of Service for .NET base classes contain the following features:
| A generic implementation of the Open method, which the service object can use as the starting point for its own implementation. Code that manages state verification for all property access and method calls. Code that manages and delivers events to the application. Code that manages and updates all UPOS-defined statistics for the device. Code that provides all standard validations and device functionality—including appropriate update and management of the device’s property values. The Windows Point of Service for .NET code also calls, as appropriate, implementations provided by the service object. A set of “helper classes,” which can be used by the service object to return state and error information, queue asynchronous operations, update device properties while bypassing state verification, and so on.
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| Windows Point of Service for .NET includes the runtime components (Microsoft.PointOfService.dll, Microsoft.PointOfService.ControlBase, and the WMI provider), the command line management tool (POSDM.exe), and the SDK (Sample Code and .NET Service Objects).
| POS for .NET WMI
Gives administrators a way to programmatically configure the library on a local or remote POS system.
Posdm.exe
Provides a convenient command line interface for the WMI provider, for use in local or remote configurations that do not require programming. For more information, see the POS Device Management Guide.
Device Simulators
The SDK includes a number of device simulators that allow application developers to develop and test their applications without the physical peripheral in hand during integration testing.
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