The Barcode API class allows you to capture barcode data using your devices camera and/or dedicated scanning component like a 1D laser or 2D imager scanner found on Zebra Technologies devices.
Because RhoMobile Suite is designed to run on both Consumer devices and Zebra Technologies' enterprise devices support for the Barcode API will vary from device to device. In general if you are developing for a consumer device the number of symbologies available to you will be limited to just the most common ones, eg EAN13, UPCA etc and your scanning will be via the device camera. If your application is running on Zebra Technologies' hardware you will have much finer control over a more fully featured Scanner, often with a choice of scanner hardware on the device. In general if you wish to capture a single barcode in a ‘one shot’ use case, eg your App just wants to capture a single barcode to be submitted to a price comparison website then use Barcode.take(callback); if your application is expecting a number of barcodes to be received, common in enterprise scenarios for example a user in a warehouse then use Barcode.enable(callback).
In RhoMobile 5.0, we have introduced instance objects on certain API classes. For the Barcode API, if you simply access Rho.Barcode or Rho::Barcode this will invoke the default object which will pick the best scan engine on the device. You can also define your own instance of Barcode object by either using the Barcode.getDefault() method or by using one of the objects returned in the Barcode.enumerate() method. If you would like to change the properties of the default scanner so that you do not need to always reset properties or keep a global variable instance available
JavaScript :::javascript var defaultScanner = Rho.Barcode.getDefault(); defaultScanner.allDecoders = false; defaultScanner.code128 = true; Rho.Barcode.setDefault(defaultScanner);
Ruby :::ruby @defaultScanner = Rho::Barcode.getDefault() @defaultScanner.allDecoders = false @defaultScanner.code128 = true Rho.Barcode.setDefault(@defaultScanner)
To see what barcode scanners are available to use, you can use the Barcode.enumerate method. This method will return an array of Barcode instance objects. You can then use the Barcode instance methods and properties.
JavaScript :::javascript var scanners;
function choose_scanner(){
// Enumerate returns an array of scanner objects
scanners = Rho::Barcode.enumerate();
// now the variable scanners contains an array of Barcode objects
}
function scan_using_chosen_scanner(scanner_index) {
var scanner = scanners[scanner_index];
// scanner will now be an instance object of Barcode
// so I can use Barcode methods like .take()
scanner.take({}, scan_received_callback);
}
Ruby :::ruby def choose_scanner # Obtain list of available scanners on the system. $scanners = Rho::Barcode.enumerate
end
def scan_using_chosen_scanner
# receive an integer as parameter, which represent the number of the scanner we wish to use
scanner = $scanners[@params["scannerIndex"].to_i]
scanner.take({}, url_for(:action => :scan_received_callback))
end
There are a few ways to scan a barcode and the options available to you will depend on the type of device you have
Barcode.take is a universal method for scanning barcodes that will work across all devices and platforms (as long as there are scanning capabilities either through a camera or scan engine). When called, this method immediately invokes either the camera or the 1D Laser/2D Imager scan engines.
When the barcode is scanned, the data will be returned in the callback return object. This object will contain a status and barcode attribute with the result. If the user decided to not scan a barcode or a timeout occured, then the status will be cancel
JavaScript :::javascript function scan_using_default_scanner(){ // Scan with default options // We could have passed in an object of Barcode.properties // in the first param Rho.Barcode.take({}, scan_received); }
function scan_received(params)
// Did we actually find a barcode ?
// If status is not 'ok', the scan was cancelled
if (params["status"]=="ok") {
alert('Barcode scanning complete. Scanned barcode: '+params["barcode"]);
} else {
alert('Barcode scanning aborted');
}
}
Ruby :::ruby def scan_using_default_scanner # Scan with default options # We could have passed in some Barcode.properties in the first param Rho::Barcode.take({}, url_for(:action => :scan_received)) end
def scan_received
# Did we actually find a barcode ?
# If status is not 'ok', the scan was cancelled
if @params["status"] == "ok"
Rho::Log.info(@params["barcode"],"Barcode result")
else
Rho::Log.info("Cancelled", "Barcode result")
end
end
On Zebra Technologies devices there is a dedicated hardware button that is used as a scanner trigger. In order to use this feature, you would use Barcode.enable(). This will enable the scanner trigger for accepting barcodes. Like with the take method, we could optionally pass in a set of properties to use, but must always provide a callback for handling the result.
The Barcode.enable() returns a different set of callback parameters:
Once the barcode button is enabled, anytime the user presses the trigger the scanner will be started and upon scanning a barcode the callback method will be called. When you no longer need or want this behavior you should disable the scanner button using Barcode.disable()
JavaScript :::javascript function scan_using_msi_trigger(){ // Enable the scan button on MSI device
Rho.Barcode.enable({}, scan_received);
}
function scan_received(params)
// the enable method returns a different set of callback params
// and only is called when a barcode is scanned
// if the user decides to not scan a barcode this method
// will not be called
alert('Barcode scanning complete. Scanned barcode: '+params["data"]);
// disable the scan trigger
Rho.Barcode.disable();
}
Ruby :::ruby def scan_using_msi_trigger // Enable the scan button on MSI device
Rho::Barcode.enable {}, url_for(:action => :scan_received)
end
def scan_received(params)
// the enable method returns a different set of callback params
// and only is called when a barcode is scanned
// if the user decides to not scan a barcode this method
// will not be called
Rho::Log.info(@params["data"],"Barcode result")
// disable the scan trigger
Rho::Barcode.disable()
end