Point of Sale (POS) Application

[eluser]Unknown[/eluser]
i was able to write a POS before. 1 is built in vb6 another is vb.net. the software needs to be installed into the terminal computers or should we say POS terminals. if you need to update the version you will have to update each terminal. but i don't think its that difficult to do. there could be many ways to simplify that task. about making a web based POS system, i think its somewhat challenging. external devices/periperals are used in POS software such as barcode scanner, printer and cash drawer are just basic of them. for barcode scanner, this is not a problem. as simple at it can be its just like a keyboard. as long as the input is focused on the right field in the screen there will be no problem. you will just have to do some extra manipulations on the screen and on the browser. they are sometimes sensitive to accidental pressing of keys in the keyboard. for the printer and cash drawer, this may need a written driver for the POS to interface with. the terminals will have to download the driver (written by you or 3rd party) as part of the initial setup of the software in the terminal. one feature that a desktop based POS has that i love is the ability of it to work even if the network is down. in stores, even in high tech ones, POS terminals are networked either via cable lan or wifi. the system operates in centralized manner wherein there is a database server somewhere in the store's office. when we designed the POS softwares back then, we design them to be able to work as stand alone in case they can't communicate with the server. like what the previous post said. it has its own database within the POS terminal itself (it can be exported to cd and usb drives for uploading into the server). there is the main server (the main database). and there is the terminal database. there is no downtime as long as the POS is running and the customer wants to buy what he got from the stacks in the store. even if the router broke, somebody tripped the cable, the server is down. as complicated as it can get..hehee...there's even the third background process software that synchronizes the terminal to the server when the connection is back. this setup is critical to some stores where there's always a pile up of customer waiting in the line to pay.

i would also like to be able to develop POS written in PHP via CodeIgniter if possible. the challenge i think is how to implement real life flexibility features and how will it perform well just like any other desktop POS systems.

best luck to you sir.