WinWeigh Plus Module

Automation

VIP (Virtual Ident Processor) is a versatile program for controlling ident devices (e.g. Id card readers), which can act as a link between ident devices and other application programs and/or a WinWeigh database.

VIP is a trayicon application. When the program starts, only a tray icon is displayed. Double-click on the tray icon to open a diagnostic window. Closing the diagnostic window minimizes the application back to a tray icon. The application can only be closed by opening the context menu of the tray icon and selecting the “Close” entry there. VIP does not run as a utility and is therefore tied to a user’s interactive session. VIP supports a limited number of different models of ident devices.

Standard examples:

  • Siemens ES220 barcode card terminal
  • Electromatic EM20 transponder terminal
  • Benzing 880 access terminal
  • Benzing Bedas 9xxx terminals
  • SPECTRA-TEK UK LTD Mercury 2e Terminal
  • Pfister DFA 57 remote indicator
  • Siebert SX45-xxx text displays
  • Kolter OPTO-PCI EA card
  • VIP Window
  • Touchscreen
  • Simple STX/ETX protocol for computer coupling
  • Simple text protocol for computer coupling
  • Siemens 3964R procedure
  • UDP / TCP
  • Javascript
  • ODBC / OLE

VIP can operate one or more (same or different) identifiers at the same time.

The functionality of the identification device, i.e. the processing of the read or entered data and the design of the dialog with the user, is not fixed by VIP, but is defined by an external program. The External Program is a simple program source code that is read and interpreted by VIP from a text file at runtime. The External Program is written in a language called SimCo (Simple Command) and provides the possibilities to control functions of VIP.

The elements that can be accessed from the External program are represented by the following pseudo objects:

The use of the Database and HostApp interfaces is optional. For example, it is quite possible that an application makes no use of HostApp, and communicates only with a database besides the Id device, or vice versa.

  • Device.
    Provides methods to access the Id device, e.g. to show a text in the display.
  • Database.
    Provides methods for accessing an SQL data set.
  • HostApp.
    Provides methods for sending captured data to a so-called host application, i.e. another application, to which e.g. the read-in data are transmitted via UDP datagram.