Fitness Center Management Website

I need to build a site that manages Fitness Center Membership. This needs to be connected to barcode log in. Does anyone know if this is possible? If so, where do I start?

Hi Veronica,

The first question is regarding the bar code log in...

I am guessing that you are referring to the fact that when a member of the club comes to work out, they will present their card at the front desk which will then get scanned; is that correct?

If that is the case, you then need to know the capabilities of the bar code machine and software. I don't want to assume too much, but my guess is that it is a typical bar code scanner/gun that the attendant has - and is hooked up to a computer with the software drivers for the scanner.

First, find out what information is actually put on the bar code of the cards. Hopefully, it would be the same number as their user id in the database that your managing.

If that's the case, you would first need to see if the bar code scanner can output the user ID into a PHP application - either through xml or even a text file. Then in your PHP application, you would need to query the database where equal to that bar code ID to see if the member is valid. This would also mean that there would have to be some field in the database table that confirmed if the user was valid (active, paid up, etc.). It could even be a BOOLEAN value... meaning when the user has paid their dues or whatever, you could have a column titled userActive, for example - and it would get updated to TRUE if their account is current and it gets updated to FALSE if they don't make a payment. So, then you would get the user ID from the bar code and then query to get the results of the aforementioned "userActive" column... if it is TRUE, than you would let the user in. If it's false, then you would send them home :).

If you have any more details, post them and I will see how I can help.

Cheers,

Brian

i think you need a barcode reader c# to help you when a member of your club take the card. it is posiible to build a site. check this one i have been using.

I would stay away from C#, since you are working PHP currently I'd stick with it. The barcode reader will probably be implemented with javascript or java anyway and you can use it to populate a hidden form element and then go from there.

I'd look into the documentation that comes with your barcode reader and make sure there is a web site integration example and it should answer your questions. If you want our help, as long as you have that documentation, we could help you integrate it in a premier support ticket.

Originally Said By: veronica.reid341765

  I need to build a site that manages Fitness Center Membership. This needs to be connected to barcode log in. Does anyone know if this is possible? If so, where do I start?  

how to connect to barcode ?

Like Ray suggested, look in the documentation that came with the Bar Code reader you are using.

That documentation should include a web site integration example that you can use as a starting point and go from there.

It might require scanner support. Some USB-interfaced barcode readers have "function key mode" option. When this option is enabled, the barcode reader output bar code values 01 ~ 1f as function keys. ASCII value 10 is translated into Enter key. Code128 supports encoding ASCII value 10. Produce barcode on string "1234~d0101234" will produce key sequence "1234" ENTER "1234". For serial port interface barcode scanner, search "scanner wedge program" on the Internet. Those programs translate values received from serial port into keys on the keyboard.

Originally Said By: veronica.reid341765

  I need to build a site that manages Fitness Center Membership. This needs to be connected to barcode log in. Does anyone know if this is possible? If so, where do I start?  

We can provide some of the features of the code implementation methods, including the barcode generation and barcode reading capabilities, you can integrate into your application.