Point Of Sale Software

[treefolk]

Hi, I would like to use Livecode to create an open-source Point of sale system for restaurants.

Basically there would be a main application possibly running on server(?) that the chef/owners could enter all relevant information about products (ingredients, allergy information, etc) The servers would have android tablets that retrieve all relevant information about food from the main app, and can take orders, which are sent to a small printer/screen in the kitchen as well as logged in the main app. The kitchen would also have the ability to notify the servers via tablet when each ticket was done. Just wondering how feasible this idea was, and perhaps links to a lesson or two that might help me start this project.

Thanks,

treefolk

[trenatos]

The idea is certainly feasible.

Personally I would look at creating a server and a client portion (Or multiple clients, for each different section such that servers, cooks, management, etc., have their own client which focus on different information).

Where to begin?

You'll need networking, so look into sockets, you want printing (Receipts), and a database.

Learn basic LC programming, add in sockets networking to share information between programs, then how to talk to a database.

[treefolk]

Thanks, I Think I have the basics down, and have recently learned how to create/interact with a mysql DB, so It looks like i'll be learning about sockets now!

[Da_Elf]

I know this is an old post but i thought it best to bring this back up rather than start a new one. How far did you get with this and does anyone have a recomendation on what hardware printer/cash drawer can be used to connect via socket?

[Peter Wood]

The sockets mentioned earlier in the thread are not physical sockets that you plug hardware into but network sockets that allow a Client computer to communicate with a Server. You can write client/server applications in LIveCode by using sockets. (A socket is a combination of an IP address and a port number e.g. 127.0.0.0:8080).

Hardware such as cash drawers and barcode scanners are typically attached to serial ports or usb ports. This threadhttp://forums.livecode.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6961 gives some information about accessing serial ports from LiveCode. You could also look up driver in the LiveCode Dictionary.

[sefrojones]

As far as I know though, Sockets are still not supported on android.....

[Da_Elf]

I knew what kind of sockets they were refering to. I asked since i had seen a printer/drawer that used RJ-45 and could be connected to network via IP. But it was kind of pricy and im now looking into one thats USB. This link is very helpful thanks

[Peter Wood]

Given that LiveCode is "single-threaded", it would probably be worth considering using http to communicate with the server rather than a direct socket-to-socket approach. You can then the benefit of the web servers ability to run multiple LiveCode scripts in parallel.