Programming language to access RFID

Question

I would like to create a project that uses RFID technology. I don't know which languages can be used to retrieve RFID data. Is there a list of languages that provide good support for retrieving RFID data, and if so, is there sample code available? I have found some resources which seemed to indicate that Python can be used, however I'm not very experienced with Python. Any help or guidance will be appreciated.

Humblebee

@ThiefMaster did you find any sample code? i am trying to make a rfid facebook like this card – Elielia

I think you wanted to ask the OP. I just edited the horrible all-caps title.. – Retinue

Answer 1

Check out Arduino together with Parallax RFID reader. You can program it in C.

Descartes

Answer 2

Determine what is the target (or targets) of your project, choose yours programming language wisely.

It was for some advantage if we know, what kind of project are you designing, a embedded system is different to "normal" PC.

Lutist

I PREFER EIGHTER PHYTON OR PHP – Humblebee

nice for you! But project is not about your preferences, isn't? If it should be a small web-service with tracking of rfids, you can use php (if any acceptable solutions for RFID-readers exist). Or you try it with python (e.g. django + some funky python RFID-lib) – Lutist

Answer 3

I'm assuming you already have the hardware for this project? If not, you'll need to investigate that before you start thinking about programming.

Moving on to code, if you're planning on actually writing the hardware drivers to operate the RFID reader, then you'll need to use a low-level language like C++. You'll also need to know about programming hardware interfaces.

But most likely you don't need to worry about that, because the hardware drivers are already written; all you need to do is call their functionality, which would be through a series of library calls.

Virtually all modern languages can access standard libraries, so you should be able to do this in pretty much any language you like.

The choice of language is therefore less about accessing the hardware, and more about finding the appropriate language for you -- the choice could be one that you're comfortable with already, or one that you want to learn. You should decide whether you want to use a scripting language or a compiled language. It also needs to be a language which has the tools to produce the user interface you want.

I see PHP in the tags. I would say that this would not be a suitable language for this project, since PHP is typically used for server-side web-based applications, and if there's one technology that isn't going to be server-side or web-based, it's RFID. PHP can be used to write code with a local GUI, but it's never going to be an optimal language for such a program.

Good

I WILL CONNECT THE RFID TO SEVER TO MAINTAIN A DATABASE OF STUDENTS ENTERING OR EXITING A HALL SO I THOUGHT PHP WILL BE OPTIMAL IN THIS CASE – Humblebee

@Humblebee - but with PHP in its traditional model as a web back-end, your RFID reader would need to be on the server, while your user interface would be on a browser on a separate machine. PHP won't be able to access RFID reader hardware on the client machine. – Good

@SPUDLEY- IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION – Humblebee

@Humblebee - the code that is accessing the hardware needs to be on the same machine that the hardware is connected to. You could certainly have a PHP component on the server to deal with the database aspect if you wanted, but you'd also need a component on the client machine to deal with the hardware. There are still many languages you could use for this. – Good

@spudley so u have any code or reference for this type of problem any type of link or solution is appreciated – Humblebee

@Humblebee - sorry, I don't have anything worth sharing that you couldn't find on Google. Especially as you haven't told us much about your hardware and operating system platform. I've generalised in my answer, but to be more specific one would have to know more about your project, and even then, Google is likely to be more helpful than I could be on the specifics. – Good

@Good it seems you have the knowledge. I am also trying to do a RFID project as a follow up to a simple barcode scanning project. But the RFID reader doesn't play nice. The reader only seems to work with a delphi program (in a folder called The example of delphi). The reader also came with a VB (visual basic?) example and The example of VC++6.0, but i can't seem to start the programs at all. Do you have any tips, links info? – Elielia

Answer 4

You can use the 2 different kits for programming interface: http://www.jeremyperson.com/tikitag-rfid-programming-kit or http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=14

Wheelchair

Answer 5

What kind of hardware designation have you made? The fundamentals of an application really come from the "character dramatis" in the scene. Some manufacturers of RFID readers are more prone to being microsoft centric and often times utilize more complex products like websphere to utilize Java. Not that there is anything wrong with that but again it is important to nail down the flavor you are working in. Just remember not everyone is going to be flexible.

Smallman

Answer 6

It depends on the reader specs, not the language itself, since the reader manufacturer decides how you 'can' connect to the reader.

As of PHP, you should look for TCP/IP enabled readers (expensive). Since PHP will let you handle it pretty well, and you DON'T need a browser to do it. PHP CLI will let you keep instances of script opened server-side as long as you'd like, and listen to reader's calls or open new ones. Also, if your reader records data into memory, you can retrieve it with cron jobs/scheduled tasks periodically.

Same stuff can be achieved with other languages (every language will let you open sockets), BUT most manufacturers will only let you connect to their readers using proprietary API's that will often be available on a few languages, making it really painful to choose any language you want, but the ones the manufactuers want you to.

Pep