developed inMicrosoftWindows environment and the server being
a relational database system. Microsoft SQL Server was used again
as the RDBMS, whereas the client application was developed using
the PowerBuilder tool.
Regarding the mobile subsystem, the application is based on
the Microsoft .NET Framework and written in C# programming
language. The mobile devices (PDAs, PocketPCs) run MicrosoftWindows
Mobile 5 or 6 operating systems. For communication with
the local database, the ADO.NET set was used. ADO.NET includes
a number of programming interfaces, such as Connection, Command,
DataReader, DataTable, DataView, etc., which act as a level
of abstraction between the application and the database and allow
datamanaging in acommonway, regardless of the specific database
implementation.
As for the RFID reader/writer devices, the following three alternatives
were available:
• CF (compact flash) card
• SD (secure digital) card
• Embedded in a mobile device.
Each one of these solutions has both advantages and drawbacks.
Since an SD card LF reader was still not available in the market
at the time of the platform’s implementation, only the other two
solutions were adopted. Nevertheless, as soon as this type of RFID
reader/writer is released, incorporating it to the platform will be a
very simple process, since the platform is designed so that it can
support many different configurations.