Before You Begin
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Terms and Conventions
• A reader is the JANUS 2010, 2020, or 2050 PC-compatible bar code reader.
• An operator is anyone who runs applications on the reader.
• A programmer is anyone who writes applications for the reader.
• A normal PC is assumed to be a DOS-based PC/AT-compatible 386, with
a hard disk, 14-inch monitor, full-size keyboard, floppy disk drives, and
at least two communication ports.
• Reader services are the functional abilities that distinguish the Intermec
family of PC-compatible readers from a normal PC. For example, the
reader’s ability to decode bar code data as if it came from a PC keyboard
is a typical reader service.
• Software interrupts are the synchronous triggering of interrupts used for
application program interfaces.
• Library functions are the specialized Ada functions provided in the
language libraries that you use to invoke various reader services.
• PSK means the Programmer’s Software Kit and refers to both the
language libraries and this manual.
• The Programmer’s Software Kit Language Libraries is the disk shipped with
this manual. It contains sample programs and library functions for
interfacing with the reader.
• The keypad is the custom JANUS keyboard. Throughout this manual,
specific references to the JANUS keyboard use the term keypad.
• The keyboard buffer is the machine-level buffer that stores key presses
and scanned labels. Throughout this manual, specific references to this
buffer and its status flags use the term keyboard.