Omnitron Systems Technology RS-232 - Manual (Page 40)

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Using the Data Editing Functions
The data editing function is often applied to driver’s licenses, where the
magnetic stripe contains three tracks of information about the license holder,
and the host application may need only certain details (such as name, address,
and birth date) rather than all the data the stripe holds.
In the AAMVA format, for example, the unedited output for a driver’s license
might look like this:
TRACK 1: %CABREA^DOE$JANE$R$^310 S JEFFERSON ST^?
TRACK 2: ;636014028198457=051219639924?
TRACK 3: %!!92870 C F503121BLKBRN D69119980116?
Track 1 contains the license holder’s name and address. Track 2 includes the
expiration date and the holder’s birthdate. Track 3 includes such details as
height, weight, sex, hair, and eye color.
You can identify exactly what fields the various bits of data occupy by
referring to the AAMVA format in Appendix C. Read the data from a sample
license, print it out, and then mark the fields accordingly. Now decide what
fields of data you need, and what fields of data you don’t need. For instance,
if you don’t need eye and hair colors, you can discard this data once it is read
and decoded. You don’t need to send it to the host.
Once you know what data you’ll need for your host application, decide what
order you’ll need it in. Should the name come first? Should the city come
last? Is there other data or formatting you need? If so, you will have to add
fields that contain that data.
Knowing what fields you need to add, drop, and re-arrange will enable you to
make full use of the commands on the following pages.