Epson SR-600 - Manual (Page 81)

Rev.A Driver / Utility Specifications 4-11
Developer's Guide SR-600 Confidential
EPSON OPOS ADK
OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) is component software that runs on Win 32-bit style
operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. The creation of software components
enables software reuse and backward compatibility.
The purpose of OLE POS (“OPOS”) is to use OLE to standardize the control system (API) of POS
peripherals, thereby making application and peripheral equipment control software open and
generic, OPOS standardizes the interface between POS applications and device control objects,
which in the past have differed by device and by manufacturer; it also facilitates the porting of
applications and the reconfigurations of peripheral devices.
Such standardization of peripheral devices eliminates much of the work once needed to
developsoftware. Further, it totally opens systems and makes it possible to build intelligent,
flexible POS systems affordably, not only in large retail stores but even in the smallest shops,
where POS has yet to make inroads.
OPOS makes it easy to build POS applications that take advantage of the functionality that
Windows has to offer, such as graphics, video, and sound, a user-friendly GUI, and
multitasking.
Refer the User’s Guide stored in the directory C:\Backup\Oposadkfor for more dtails of the
OPOS ADK installation procedure.
The creation of component software
POS devices require a control program. In the past, the device control object existed as part of a
monolithic POS application software. Because of this monolithic structure, POS systems
designers would have to replace or revise the entire POS application software just to change the
device control object when a peripheral device was changed. This, of course, was a time-
consuming and costly process. It also meant that to create device control objects, POS
application software developers had to acquire detailed technical knowledge of each
manufacturer’s devices, including their functions and command systems.
With the advent of PC-POS, however, any external device could be connected to the PC, as long
as the interface (e.g., serial or parallel) was supported. While the hardware compatibility
problem was solved, the software problem was not. Software could not be adapted and the POS
applications software itself would have to be replaced. Thus a total opening of PC-POS
systemsin terms of both hardware and software had not been achieved.
To solve this problem, the device control objects were modularized and made independent from
the POS applications software. This simplifies the process of changing the POS application
software itself when a device is replaced because now only the device control object needs to
bereplaced. In addition, by providing our own device control objects, we can lighten the burden
on our POS applications software developers, who no longer need to acquire detailed
knowledge of each manufacturer‘s device and standardize the total system, hardware as well as
software.