PosExplorer Class (POS for .NET v1.14 SDK Documentation)

  • Article

PosExplorer provides Point of Service (POS) applications with a single entry point to Microsoft Point of Service for .NET (POS for .NET) services. PosExplorer supports applications by:

  • Enumerating installed POS devices.
  • Instantiating Service Objects.
  • Receiving Plug and Play events when a POS peripheral device is connected or disconnected.

PosExplorer Properties

The following table describes PosExplorer properties.

Property Type Description
PosRegistryKey string Returns POS for .NET configuration root registry key relative to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
StatisticsFile string Returns a path to the file where device statistics are contained.
SynchronizingObject ISynchronizeInvoke Holds the ISynchronizeInvoke object.

PosExplorer Methods

The following table describes PosExplorer methods.

Method Return Type Description
CreateInstance PosDevice Instantiates a Service Object for the device.
GetDevice DeviceInfo Returns a device of the specified type (must be only one in the system).
GetDevice DeviceInfo Returns a device of the type with the specified logical name or alias.
GetDevices DeviceCollection Returns all POS devices.
GetDevices DeviceCollection Returns all POS devices with the specified compatibility level.
GetDevices DeviceCollection Returns POS devices of the type.
GetDevices DeviceCollection Returns POS devices of the type and compatibility level.
Refresh None Re-enumerates the list of attached POS devices and rebuilds internal data structures.

PosExplorer Events

The following table describes PosExplorer events.

Event Description
DeviceAddedEvent Received when a Plug and Play-compatible POS device is connected.
DeviceRemovedEvent Received when a Plug and Play-compatible POS device is disconnected.

Example

The following code example demonstrates how to create an instance of PosExplorer, connect to Plug and Play events, and use it to identify all connected Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) devices. The code example prints information about the MSR to the console and closes the device after it has finished.

// Creates a new instance of an MSR.
void CreateMsr(DeviceInfo msrinfo)
{
    msr = (Msr)explorer.CreateInstance(msrinfo);
    msr.Open();
    msr.Claim(1000);
    msr.DeviceEnabled = true;
}

static void Main(string[] args)
{

    // Create a new instance of PosExplorer and use it to
    // collect device information.
    PosExplorer explorer = new PosExplorer();
    DeviceCollection devices = explorer.GetDevices();

    // Search all connected devices for an MSR, print its service
    // object name to the console, and close it when finished.
    foreach (DeviceInfo device in devices)
    {
      if (device.Type == DeviceType.Msr)
      {
         if (device.ServiceObjectName == currentMsr)
         {
            CreateMsr(device);
            Console.WriteLine(device.ServiceObjectName);

            // It is important that applications close all open
            // Service Objects before terminating.
            msr.Close();
            msr = null;
         }
      }
    }
}

See Also

Concepts

Other Resources