Little about Barcode

Question

I am at the design stage of my POS system. it's my first attempt.
i have d/l a free 3of9 bar code font available from the net.
my queries are;
1) at the time of creating product code master, do i need to assign the barcode
font to my item_code field ? i am thinking of leaving an option on user to either
scan the barcode, printed on the Item box, or enter manually his own or the 1 associated
with the item barcode.
2) i have read about barcodes that there are number of fonts used for barcoding. so in that case, if my clients deals in variety of products, so he will receive Items with
different barcode fonts, right?. but i can assign just one font to my item_code field at design time. so how to tackle a situation like this ?
which barcode scanner reads most of the barcodes font ?
3) theres one more issue i came across, that for creating a barcode one need to enclose the item_code
value between a ' * ' .
my client, during SALE period want to merge 3-in-1, buy1-get-1-free offer and wants to create his
own barcode number & a label of it.
so if he is entering his own item_code that will be recognize by barcode
scanner, does he has to brace it within ' * ' ?
4) how can i do this all using just one barcode (3of9) font?

Answer 1

Little About Barcode.
PACKAGE BODY PDF_DPdf IS
-- The Get and Set accessors for properties:
FUNCTION src(interface OleObj) RETURN VARCHAR2 IS
BEGIN
  return Get_Ole_Char(interface, 1);
END;
PROCEDURE src(interface OleObj, newvalue VARCHAR2) IS
BEGIN
  Set_Ole(interface, 1, newvalue);
END;
-- The Functions:
FUNCTION LoadFile(interface OleObj, fileName VARCHAR2) RETURN NUMBER IS
  my_new_value NUMBER;
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(fileName);
  my_new_value := Call_Ole_Num(interface, 2);
  return my_new_value;
End;
PROCEDURE setShowToolbar(interface OleObj, zOn NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(zOn, VT_BOOL);
  Call_Ole(interface, 3);
End;
PROCEDURE gotoFirstPage(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 4);
End;
PROCEDURE gotoLastPage(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 5);
End;
PROCEDURE gotoNextPage(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 6);
End;
PROCEDURE gotoPreviousPage(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 7);
End;
PROCEDURE setCurrentPage(interface OleObj, n NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(n, VT_I4);
  Call_Ole(interface, 8);
End;
PROCEDURE goForwardStack(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 9);
End;
PROCEDURE goBackwardStack(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 10);
End;
PROCEDURE setPageMode(interface OleObj, pageMode VARCHAR2) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(pageMode);
  Call_Ole(interface, 11);
End;
PROCEDURE setLayoutMode(interface OleObj, layoutMode VARCHAR2) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(layoutMode);
  Call_Ole(interface, 12);
End;
PROCEDURE setNamedDest(interface OleObj, namedDest VARCHAR2) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(namedDest);
  Call_Ole(interface, 13);
End;
PROCEDURE Print(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 14);
End;
PROCEDURE printWithDialog(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 15);
End;
PROCEDURE setZoom(interface OleObj, percent NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(percent, VT_R4);
  Call_Ole(interface, 16);
End;
PROCEDURE setZoomScroll(interface OleObj, percent NUMBER, left NUMBER,
     top NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(3);
  Add_OleArg(percent, VT_R4);
  Add_OleArg(left, VT_R4);
  Add_OleArg(top, VT_R4);
  Call_Ole(interface, 17);
End;
PROCEDURE setView(interface OleObj, viewMode VARCHAR2) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(viewMode);
  Call_Ole(interface, 18);
End;
PROCEDURE setViewScroll(interface OleObj, viewMode VARCHAR2, offset NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(2);
  Add_OleArg(viewMode);
  Add_OleArg(offset, VT_R4);
  Call_Ole(interface, 19);
End;
PROCEDURE setViewRect(interface OleObj, left NUMBER, top NUMBER,
     width NUMBER, height NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(4);
  Add_OleArg(left, VT_R4);
  Add_OleArg(top, VT_R4);
  Add_OleArg(width, VT_R4);
  Add_OleArg(height, VT_R4);
  Call_Ole(interface, 20);
End;
PROCEDURE printPages(interface OleObj, zfrom NUMBER, zto NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(2);
  Add_OleArg(zfrom, VT_I4);
  Add_OleArg(zto, VT_I4);
  Call_Ole(interface, 21);
End;
PROCEDURE printPagesFit(interface OleObj, zfrom NUMBER, zto NUMBER,
     shrinkToFit NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(3);
  Add_OleArg(zfrom, VT_I4);
  Add_OleArg(zto, VT_I4);
  Add_OleArg(shrinkToFit, VT_BOOL);
  Call_Ole(interface, 22);
End;
PROCEDURE printAll(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, 23);
End;
PROCEDURE printAllFit(interface OleObj, shrinkToFit NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(shrinkToFit, VT_BOOL);
  Call_Ole(interface, 24);
End;
PROCEDURE setShowScrollbars(interface OleObj, zOn NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(1);
  Add_OleArg(zOn, VT_BOOL);
  Call_Ole(interface, 25);
End;
PROCEDURE AboutBox(interface OleObj) IS
BEGIN
  Init_OleArgs(0);
  Call_Ole(interface, -552);
End;
END;sasrah