SiR and Barcodes

SiR & Barcodesor

Another non-standard use

John S. Lemon

SiR and Barcodes

The Background

SiR and Barcodes

The Background• A ‘bright idea’ from Student Recruitment• Try to get more Engineering students• Offer them a free laptop• “Great idea – let’s do it”• “Should we discuss it with DIT ?”

( new name for Computing Centre )• “Only when we’ve finalised it”

SiR and Barcodes

The dialog with DIT• “We’re giving new Engineering students a

free laptop”• Reactions• What machine specification ?• Which software• When• How many

• Finally got some answers

SiR and Barcodes

Fresher’s week• 225 laptops delivered to secure store• Do you know how much space that is ??• “We will be issuing them to the students

tomorrow – we need to only issue them to eligible students and know which machine they got”

• How ?• “We assume you can do a data base !!”

SiR and Barcodes

The data base• The approach had to be simple• Adopt the KISS technique• Each student has a unique Id number• Each computer has a unique serial number• Use these• Issuing was being done at briefing session• Type in 225 id and serial numbers ?

SiR and Barcodes

I-day -1• Need a quick data entry method• Id cards and box labels have bar codes• Get a bar code reader• Needed one quickly• Ordered on credit card – delivery

guaranteed before 1200 next day• Briefing session started at 1430

SiR and Barcodes

I-day -12 hours• Engineering provided Excel file with

students in• Contained eligible and non-eligible• Create a quick and dirty data base• Go home feeling reasonably confident • Why ?

SiR and Barcodes

PQL forms to the rescue• Just scan the information !!

SiR and Barcodes

I-hour -4 A Burns moment• Rabbie Burns

• The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men gang aft agley,

• I’d added myself as a ‘test account’• But PQL forms never found me !!

SiR and Barcodes

Where was I ?• The reader worked• The system worked if I typed my number in• What was wrong ?• The ....ing Id bar code has an extra digit• This is the issue card number for each

replacement !!• I believe that PQL forms code could cope

SiR and Barcodes

Quick coding• I couldn’t work out how to make PQL forms

do what I wanted• Australia would / should be asleep !!• Write a PQL programme to do a quick and

dirty job• Still coding as first briefing started to 100

students• No chance to test properly – only my card

SiR and Barcodes

Conclusion• The bar code reader coped• The coding coped• The people actually handing out the

machines couldn’t !!• It also coped with the ‘chancers’• “Can I get my friends machine”• “I haven’t had my machine”• Non-eligibles

SiR and Barcodes

Conclusion• When / if they repeat this year then I’ll use

PQL forms modifying the code to remove ‘issue number’

• It will look more professional