  
December 5,
2005
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This edition of FlicWatch Developer Newsletter presents you with:
http://www.cesweb.org/default.asp
Consumer Electronics Show
January 5-8, 2006, Las Vegas, NV
If you are going and would like to meet, please
let us know.
http://www.himss06.org/index.asp
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference
2006
Feb 12-16, 2006 San Diego, CA
If you are going and would like to meet, please
let us know.
http://www.kingmangostrut.org/
King Mango Strut Parade
Saturday December 31st, 2005-11-28
Downtown Coconut Grove, Florida
Looks interesting if you’re
in the area.
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Flic Tip
Determining Flic Firmware Versions
Flic Scanner firmware numbering follows a major and minor release pattern.
The major release number is the first digit(s) preceding a period.
This number is currently used to determine the type of scanner: 1
= Batch/Tethered, 2 = Cordless.
The minor release is the digit(s)
following the first period: 1.x or 2.xx. This number is read as
a decimal number and may not display leading zeroes. For example,
V2.9 firmware is read as "Version
Two point Nine" while V2.34 is read as "Version Two point
Thirty-Four".
In order to compare firmware
releases to determine the later version, first compare the major
release. Currently the only major releases are 1 and 2 and indicate
scanner type as noted above. If Microvision creates another major
release of Flic Scanner firmware this number would increase. Next,
compare the minor release number. Take the entire number after the
period to compare. So in the example above V2.9 has a minor revision
of "Nine" while
V2.34 has a minor revision of "Thirty-Four". Since 34 is
greater than 9, V2.34 is the later revision.
The most common releases you may encounter and the differences:
Flic Scanner Firmware |
V1.18 |
Includes ITF decode, 9600 Baud support and bug
fixes for battery drain issue and UPC-E expansion. |
V1.34 |
Includes support for field upgradeable firmware,
expanded User ID field, and some interface enhancements. |
Flic Cordless Scanner Firmware |
V2.9 |
Includes ITF decode and bug fix for UPC-E expansion. |
V2.34 |
Includes support for field upgradeable firmware,
expanded User ID field, Bleutooth interface enhancements. |
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Using the Flic Scanner in a mobile application? Need a printer to
go along with it? You might want to checkout the MPrint printer with
Bluetooth technology from Brother International Corp.
Product:Brother
MPrint MW-140BT
Product Type: Mobile
Printer
Product Description:
The MPrint MW-140BT mobile printer with Bluetooth technology
measures just 6.3” x 3.9” x 0.7” and weighs less
than 11 ounces. It produces crisp, quiet 300 dpi printing on five
different media cassettes, including notepaper, labels, and carbon
copy sheets. Print from Windows laptop and tablet PCs; Pocket PC and
Palm PDAs and BlackBerry devices; and Windows MobileSmartphones. Included
with each printer is a 50-sheet paper cassette and a built-in, rechargeable
lithium-ion battery capable of printing up to 100 pages on a single
charge.
Target Operating Systems:
Windows 98/98SE/2000 Professional/XP; PocketPC/2002/2003;
Windows Mobile for PocketPC 2003; Palm OS 3.X, 4.X, 5.2; BlackBerry
OS 4.0.2 or higher.
Learn more at http://www.brotheraskus.com/mprint/ or contact John Biancamano, 908-252-3152, john.biancamano@brother.com.
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You Ask, We Answer
By Tony Cataldo
Can you tell me about the development environments that work with the SDK?
The Microvision Software Development Kit (SDK) makes integrating the Flic Scanner into your application much faster and easier. The SDK works on a number of Microsoft Windows-based development environments. This article describes some of the major SDK development environments.
(PC) Visual C/C++ for Visual Studio 6 (VC6)
Visual Studio 6 has been replaced by Visual Studio .NET but many developers still use Visual Studio Studio 6 and VC6.
VC6 compiles the source to machine language that runs directly on the PC. The Flic Scanner SDK directly supports VC6. Using MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) requires the MFC .DLL on the target PC. With VC6 you can use either the lower-level Win32 API or the higher-level MFC API. Win32 applications do not require any special .DLLs and normally are smallest in size.
Advantages: Very fast code that runs directly without the need for a runtime interpreter.
Disadvantages: Older development environment that is not supported very well; Coding for Win32 or MFC is more difficult than coding for .NET.
SDK Files Required: .DLL, .LIB, and .H
(PC) Visual Basic for Visual Studio 6 (VB6)
Visual Basic runs in an interpretive mode on the target device. The VB6 runtime file requires a VB6 .DLL on the target machine. Note that program code written for Visual Basic 6 is significantly different than VB.NET code (not all Basics are created equal). Many legacy applications were written in Visual Basic 6 and we have tools to support VB6 application development. (serial-only support at this time)
Advantages: Coding is easy.
Disadvantages: Older development environment that is not supported very well; Requires runtime files; Application runs slower than Visual C/C++.
SDK Files Required: .DLL, VB6 wrapper
(PocketPC) Embedded Visual C/C++ (eVC4)
The embedded version of Visual Studio C/C++ is very similar to the PC version. Some of the API calls differ due to the added requirements of portable devices. The MFC API is a subset of the normal desktop MFC functions but nearly all of the most-used MFC functions are supported. The eVC4 applications compile to binary code that runs directly on the Pocket PC device. MFC applications require the Pocket PC version of the MFC .DLL (mfcce300d.dll which is 900K to 1.2MB depending on the target platform). Win32 applications require only the application .EXE file. Using Visual Studio produces the fastest and smallest application but the application must be compiled for the specific target platform (MIPS, ARM, etc).
Advantages: Very fast code that runs directly without the need for a runtime interpreter.
Disadvantages: Older development environment that is not supported very well; Coding for Win32 or MFC is more difficult than coding for .NET; Win32 code can be very difficult but runs very fast.
SDK Files Required: .DLL, .LIB, and .H
(Pocket PC) Embedded Visual Basic (eVB)
Embedded Visual Basic is a limited subset of normal PC Visual Basic. The functionality of Embedded Visual Basic is somewhere between the functionality of desktop Visual Basic and VB Script. Microvision does not recommend using eVB for Pocket PC applications (consider using VB.NET, C#.NET, or embedded Visual C/C++). Microvision does not current offer any tools for embedded Visual Basic applications.
(PC and Pocket PC) Visual Studio .NET
The .NET platform compiles source code to an intermediate language called MSIL
(MicroSoft Intermediate Language). The MSIL code is then run using the .NET
interpreter and just-in-time (JIT) compiler. A .NET application must be run
on a .NET device and cannot be run on a device that does not include the
.NET runtime environment. The Flic Scanner SDK requires a “wrapper” file
that provides the interface between the SDK C/C++ .DLL and the .NET interface. A
.NET application (in theory) can be compiled once and run directly on any
.NET platform without regard to the specific Pocket PC platform used. The
Flic SDK can work with the following .NET languages: Visual Basic, C/C++,
and C#. Microvision supplies wrapper files for VB.NET and C#.NET.
Advantages: Coding and debugging is very easy.
Disadvantages: Environment is very slow and application is interpreted and runs very slow.
SDK Files Required: .DLL, wrapper file for language being used (VB.NET or C#.NET)
Summary
Microvision’s demo projects demonstrate how to integrate the Flic Scanner
in an application. The demo projects include the SDK files, wrapper file (when
needed), Flic Technical/SDK Manual, project files, and complete source code.
There are no fees or licensing charges at the present time for using or deploying
our SDK. You can also freely use all source code from these demo projects.
You can modify the demo applications to suit your needs or copy and paste sections
from the demos into your existing application.
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Take advantage of this Special Coupon to Evaluate the Flic Scanner for your Application. Integrate the Flic Scanner into your application. Request the free SDK
Check out the Compatibility Matrix.
Report device compatibility issues or successes.
Flic Support. Need Help?
Flic News
Company Information
Newsletter Archives:
Developer Newsletter: 10-28-2005
Developer Newsletter: 8-23-2005
Developer
Newsletter: 7-19-2005
Developer
Newsletter: 6-9-2005
Developer
Newsletter: 5-3-2005
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Partner with Microvision
Microvision is in the process of
completing its first release of the Solutions Guide that will be
showcased on our new website. For those of you who aren’t
already familiar with the Solutions Guide, it features applications
that work with the Flic Scanner so that a larger percentage of web
visitors can be converted into customers. The Solutions Guide provides
general information about your application including application
description, platforms and languages supported, how to buy, etc.
We recently sent solution profiles
to a large number of application partners. If you didn’t receive
a profile via email, you are not on our radar. Worse yet, you are
not on the radar of the numerous visitors to our website who are
looking for solutions.
It’s not too late to get your
Flic Scanner application noticed. Contact Jacques Lincoln today
at Jacques_Lincoln@microvision.com.
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Did you know that the Flic Scanner now has an option to support RSS
(Reduced Space Symbology)? Here is a brief RSS primer.
Introduction to Reduced Space Symbology
The Uniform Code Council (UCC) has been working to develop
standards and applications for space-constrained products that previously
could not be bar coded. One such standard is the Reduced Space Symbology
(RSS) family of bar codes. RSS bar codes are being heavily used by
the medical industry where they will play an important role in increasing
patient safety through reduction in drug administration errors.
Types of RSS
There are several types of linear RSS symbols: RSS-14, RSS
Limited, and RSS Expanded. RSS-14 encodes the full 14-digit EAN.UCC
item identification in a linear symbol. RSS Limited encodes a 14-digit
EAN.UCC item identification with Indicator digits of zero or one in
a linear symbol for use on small items. RSS Expanded encodes EAN.UCC
item identification plus supplementary AI element strings such as
weight and "best before" date in a linear symbol.
Other variations include RSS-14 Truncated and RSS-14 Stacked. RSS-14
Truncated is a shorter (not as tall) version of RSS-14 that can be
used where height is a constraint and is best suited for scanning
by handheld scanners. RSS-14 Stacked is a variation of the RSS-14
symbology that is stacked in two rows and is used when the normal
symbol would be too wide for the application.
Any member of the RSS family can be printed as a stand-alone linear
symbol or as a Composite symbol with an accompanying 2D Composite
Component printed directly above the RSS linear component.
Features and Characteristics
RSS features:
a. Data compaction: Each member of the family has data compaction
methods optimized for the data strings that they will encode.
b.Component linkage: Each RSS symbol contains a linkage flag which,
if set, indicates to the reader that a 2D Composite Component is adjacent
to the RSS family linear component.
c. UCC/EAN-128 emulation: Readers set to the UCC/EAN-128 emulation
mode transmit the data encoded within the RSS family symbol as if
the data were encoded in one or more UCC/EAN-128 symbols.
The characteristics of the RSS family are:
a. Encodable character set:
RSS-14 and RSS Limited: digits 0 through 9
RSS Expanded: upper and lowercase letters, digits, and 20 selected
punctuation characters in addition to the special UCC/EAN function
character, FNC1
b. Code type: Continuous, linear
bar code symbology
Examples of RSS linear symbol
types to help in recognizing RSS bar codes |
RSS-14
|
|
RSS-14 Truncated
|
|
RSS
Limited
|
|
Examples of RSS Composite
symbols |
RSS-14 Stacked
|
|
RSS-14® Truncated
with CC-A
|
|
RSS
Limited™ with CC-B
|
|
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Top
Microvision Thanksgiving Day Place Setting
Appearing Left to Right: Fork, Other Fork, Plate with Tidy
Device, Knife, Flic Scanner, Spoon is missing – it probably
ran away with a dish.
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