Starter Guide for POS Device Applications Using .NET

 

By Sean D. Liming and John R. Malin

Barcode scanners, magnetic swipe readers, and receipt printers are not just used for cash registers. They can be found in many applications such as shipping systems, security, inventory systems, slot machines, information kiosks, checking counters, and much more. Many of these systems run a .NET application on Windows. Starter Guide for POS Device Applications Using .NET walks you through creating .NET Framework and .NET applications that access different POS devices.

Microsoft continues to improve Windows® and .NET to modernize application development. .NET 8 and the latest version of Windows® 10 and Windows® 11 now include support for the Windows.Devices.PointOfService namespace. The book brings together and updates POS for .NET and POS for WinRT to their latest versions. The book covers the following:
  • Updated coverage for POS for .NET 1.14.1SDK.
  • Creating WPF and .NET applications to access the POS WinRT device assemblies built into Windows.
  • Device discovery and Enumeration Techniques.
  • Example applications for Bar Code Scanner, POS Printer, Cash Drawer, Magnetic Stripe Reader, and Poll Display devices.
  • Exploring how to use pipes to communicate between POS WinRT and POS for .NET Service Objects.
  • Over 30 exercises and examples.

 

Print Price: $39.95

 

Book Details

Paperback: 330 Pages
Publisher: Annabooks (May 2025)
Language: English
ISBN-13:979-8-9854172-4-1

 

 
     
 

Software Requirements:

  • Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2022
  • POS for .NET 1.14.1 SDK
  • Windows® 10 21H1 or Higher or Windows® 11
  • .NET 8 or higher

 

Hardware Requirements:

Here is some of the POS hardware used for the exercises:

  • Honeywell (HHP) Bar Code Scanner – IT5600 (5600SR050) USB/HID.
  • MagTek USB/HID MSR – 21040101 or 21040102.
  • Avery-Berkel (Weigh-Tronix) POS Scale 6710.
  • EPSON T-T88V Receipt Printer with UB-E04 Ethernet interface.
  • MMF Cash Drawer – VAL-u Line® MMFVAL 1313E04.
  • EPSON DM-D110 Pole Display.
     
 

Book Downloads:

  
  Book Exercises - Zip file contains files for use with exercises and Visual Studio 2021 source code projects.
     
 

Table of Contents:

  
 

1    INTRODUCTION   
1.1    A LITTLE HISTORY   
1.2    WHAT IS POS FOR .NET FRAMEWORK AND POS WINRT: A BRIEF HISTORY   
1.3    ABOUT THE BOOK   
1.4    HONORABLE MENTION RETAIL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (RMS)   
1.5    SOFTWARE / HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE EXERCISES   
1.5.1    Development System   
1.5.2    POS Hardware   
1.5.3    Software   
1.6    DOWNLOAD BOOK EXERCISES   
1.7    SUMMARY – GET GOING WITH POS DEVELOPMENT   

2    POS FOR .NET ARCHITECTURE AND THE SDK   
2.1    OLE FOR POS (OPOS) ARCHITECTURE   
2.2    UNIFIEDPOS SUMMARIZED   
2.2.1    Applications   
2.2.2    Service Object / OPOS driver   
2.3    POS FOR .NET ARCHITECTURE   
2.4    POS FOR .NET CLASSES AND INTERACTIONS   
2.4.1    PosExplorer   
2.4.2    Application Interaction   
2.5    CHOOSING POS DEVICES CAREFULLY   
2.5.1    Choose POS devices that have Service Object or OPOS support   
2.5.2    USB HID vs. Keyboard Wedge   
2.5.3    Serial Interface and Create a Service Object   
2.5.4    Create the Application to call the Default POS Device   
2.6    EXERCISE 2.1 INSTALL AND REVIEW THE POS FOR .NET SDK   
2.7    EXERCISE 2.2 SDK: EXAMPLE OF SERVICE OBJECT SETUP   
2.7.1    Part 1: Create an XML Configuration File for a USB HID Scanner   
2.7.2    Part 2: Create an XML Configuration File for a USB HID MSR   
2.8    SUMMARY: READY TO GO   

3    CREATING POS FOR .NET APPLICATIONS FOR DIFFERENT POS DEVICES   
3.1    EXERCISE 3.1 – BARCODE SCANNER APPLICATION   
3.1.1    Part 1: Create the Application and Form
3.1.2    Part 2: Adding the POS for .NET Libraries and Code   
3.1.3    Part 3: Build and Test   
3.2    EXERCISE 3.2 MSR APPLICATION   
3.2.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
3.2.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
3.2.3    Part 2: Adding the POS for .NET Libraries and Code   
3.2.4    Part 3: Build and Test   
3.3    EPSON OPOS ADK FOR .NET V1.14.30E SETUP   
3.4    EXERCISE 3.3 POLE DISPLAY APPLICATION   
3.4.1    Part 1: Set Up the OPOS driver for the Pole Display   
3.4.2    Part 2: Create the Pole Display Application   
3.4.3    Part 3: Add the POS for .NET Libraries and Code   
3.4.4    Part 4: Build and Test   
3.5    EXERCISE 3.4 RECEIPT PRINTER APPLICATION   
3.5.1    Part 1: Set Up the OPOS driver for the Receipt Printer   
3.5.2    Part 2: Create the Receipt Printer Application   
3.5.3    Part 3: Add the POS for .NET Libraries and Code   
3.5.4    Part 4: Build and Test   
3.6    EXERCISE 3.5 ADDING THE CASHDRAWER DEVICE TO THE PRINTER APPLICATION   
3.6.1    Part 1: Setup the OPOS driver for the Cash Drawer   
3.6.2    Part 2: Modify the Printer Application   
3.6.3    Part 3: Build and Test   
3.7    APPLICATION RECOMMENDATIONS   
3.8    SUMMARY: FROM ARCHITECTURE TO APPLICATION   

4    POS FOR .NET DEVICE MANAGEMENT   
4.1    POSDM UTILITY   
4.2    EXERCISE 4.1 SET LOGICAL NAME FOR THE EXAMPLE SCANNER SERVICE OBJECT   
4.3    WMI SUPPORT   
4.3.1    The ServiceObject Class   
4.3.2    The PosDevice Class   
4.3.3    LogicalDevice Class   
4.3.4    DeviceProperty Class   
4.3.5    WMI Code Creator Utility   
4.4    EXERCISE 4.2 USING WMI IN POWERSHELL   
4.4.1    Sub Exercise 1: PowerShell Equivalent to POSDM LISTDEVICES   
4.4.2    Sub Exercise 2: PowerShell Equivalent to POSDM LISTNAMES   
4.4.3    Sub Exercise 3: Custom Information Using the ServiceObject Class   
4.5    EXERCISE 4.3: CUSTOM MANAGEMENT SOLUTION   
4.5.1    Part 1: Create the Project   
4.5.2    Part 2: Add the Code Behind the Button   
4.5.3    Part 3: Build and Test   
4.6    SERVICE OBJECT MANAGER (SOMANAGER.EXE)   
4.7    BIG WARNING! WINDOWS UPDATES BREAKING POS FOR .NET WMI   
4.8    POS PERFORMANCE MONITORING – WALK-THROUGH EXAMPLE   
4.9    SUMMARY: TAKE CONTROL   

5    POS FOR .NET SERVICE OBJECTS   
5.1    SIMPLIFYING SERVICE OBJECT DEVELOPMENT WITH INTERFACE, BASIC, AND BASE CLASSES   
5.1.1    Interface Class   
5.1.2    Basic Class   
5.1.3    Base Classes   
5.2    POS SCALE SERVICE OBJECT BACKGROUND   
5.3    EXERCISE 5.1: POS SCALE TEST APPLICATION   
5.3.1    Part 1: Create the Application and Form   
5.3.2    Part 2: Adding the Code   
5.3.3    Part 3: Build and Test   
5.4    EXERCISE 5.2: POS SCALE SERVICE OBJECT   
5.4.1    Part 1: Project Setup   
5.4.2    Part 2: Filling in the POS Scale Service Object   
5.4.3    Part 3: Set Up the Service Object   
5.5    EXERCISE 5.3 SCALE APPLICATION   
5.5.1    Part 1: Create the Application and Form   
5.5.2    Part 2: Adding the Code   
5.5.3    Part 3: Build and Test   
5.6    EXERCISE 5.3 MODIFY THE EXAMPLE MSR SO FOR HARDCODE ID   
5.6.1    Part 1: Get the Hardware IDs   
5.6.2    Part 2: Adding the HardwareIDAttribute   
5.7    THREE METHODS TO SETUP A SERVICE OBJECT   
5.8    WHAT ABOUT PIN PADS?   
5.9    SUMMARY: SERVICE OBJECTS – THE KEY TO WRITE ONCE, SUPPORT MANY   

6    .NET AND POS WINRT   
6.1    DEVICE ENUMERATION METHODS   
6.2    POS WINRT NAMESPACES AND UNIVERSAL WINDOWS ASSEMBLY SUPPORT   
6.3    EXERCISES 6.1: USB BARCODE AND DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM SETUP   
6.4    EXERCISE 6.2: USING A DEVICE PICKER (UWP APPLICATION)   
6.4.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
6.4.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
6.4.3    Write the code   
6.4.4    Test the Application   
6.5    EXERCISE 6.3: REMEMBERING A DEVICE ID   
6.6    EXERCISE 6.4: GETTING FIRST AVAILABLE DEVICE USING DEFAULTASYNC()   
6.6.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
6.6.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
6.6.3    Write the code   
6.6.4    Test the Application   
6.7    EXERCISE 6.5: SNAPSHOT OF DEVICES FOR CUSTOM INTERFACES   
6.7.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
6.7.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
6.7.3    Write the code   
6.7.4    Test the Application   
6.8    EXERCISE 6.6: USING A DEVICE WATCHER   
6.8.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
6.8.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
6.8.3    Write the code   
6.8.4    Test the Application   
6.9    SUMMARY    188

7    CREATING POS WINRT APPLICATIONS FOR DIFFERENT POS DEVICES   
7.1    EXERCISE 7.1: MAGNETIC STRIPE READER (MSR) USING DEVICE WATCHER   
7.1.1    MSR Setup   
7.1.2    Create the Visual Studio Project   
7.1.3    Set Up the XAML Controls   
7.1.4    Write the code   
7.1.5    Test the Application
7.1.6    Driver License Test   
7.2    EXERCISE 7.2 LINE/POLE DISPLAY USING DEVICE WATCHER   
7.2.1    OPOS Driver Setup   
7.2.2    Create the Visual Studio Project   
7.2.3    Set Up the XAML Controls   
7.2.4    Write the code   
7.2.5    Test the Application   
7.3    EXERCISE 7.3: POS RECEIPT PRINTER AND CASH DRAWER USING DEVICE WATCHER   
7.3.1    Printer Setup   
7.3.2    Create the Visual Studio Project   
7.3.3    Set Up the XAML Controls   
7.3.4    Write the code   
7.3.5    Test the Application   
7.4    EXERCISE 7.4: WEBCAM BARCODE SCANNER   
7.4.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
7.4.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
7.4.3    Write the code   
7.4.4    Test the Application   
7.5    EXERCISE 7.5: GETTING A LIST OF ALL POS WINRT DEVICES USING SNAPSHOT   
7.5.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
7.5.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
7.5.3    Write the code   
7.5.4    Test the Application   
7.6    EXERCISE 7.6: GETTING A LIST OF ALL POS WINRT DEVICES USING DEVICE WATCHER   
7.6.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
7.6.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
7.6.3    Write the code   
7.6.4    Test the Application   
7.7    SUMMARY   

8    POS WINRT AND POS FOR .NET WORKING TOGETHER   
8.1    A LITTLE BACKSTORY   
8.2    WHAT CANNOT BE DONE   
8.3    INTER-PROCESS COMMUNICATION: PIPES   
8.4    EXERCISE 8.1: POS SCALE SERVER IN POS FOR .NET   
8.4.1    Part 1: Create the Application   
8.4.2    Part 2: Adding the POS for .NET Libraries and Code   
8.5    EXERCISE 8.2: BARCODE AND WEIGHT SCALE IN POS WINRT   
8.5.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
8.5.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
8.5.3    Write the code   
8.6    EXERCISE 8.3: TESTING BOTH APPLICATIONS   
8.7    EXERCISE 8.4: MINOR ADDITIONS   
8.7.1    Add Code to Hide the ABScaleServer   
8.7.2    Add code to EX82_Barcode_Scale Start and Stop ABScaleServer   
8.7.3    Test the Changes   
8.8    IS THIS THE ONLY SOLUTION?   
8.9    POS WINRT VERSUS POS FOR .NET – POS DEVICE SELECTION   
8.10    SUMMARY

9    A FEW IDEAS
9.1    EXERCISE 9.1: SHARE RECEIPT PRINTER AND SAVE/RESTORE POS DEVICE   
9.1.1    Create the Visual Studio Project   
9.1.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
9.1.3    Write the code   
9.1.4    Test the Application on Multiple Systems   
9.2    STORE SOLUTION: INVENTORY AND CASH REGISTER APPLICATIONS   
9.3    EXERCISE 9.2: DATABASE SETUP   
9.4    EXERCISE 9.3: INVSCANNER   
9.4.1    Create the Visual Studio Project
9.4.2    Set Up the XAML Controls   
9.4.3    Write the code   
9.4.4    Test the Application   
9.5    EXERCISE 9.4: CASH REGISTER REVIEW   
9.5.1    Utility.cs   
9.5.2    MainWindow.xaml.cs   
9.5.3    Testing the Code   
9.6    SUMMARY   

 

 

 
 

 
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