qt-cctalk
# Qt-ccTalk ccTalk protocol implementation in modern C++ / Qt. [ccTalk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CcTalk) is a serial protocol for communication with bill validators and coin acceptors. The protocol is in widespread use throughout the money transaction and point-of-sale industry. ## Project State Implementation is finished, but untested (I no longer have access to ccTalk devices). **This project is up for adoption!** ## Description This project provides: - High-level, type-safe C++ API for ccTalk commands. - ccTalk device management (including serial port device management). - Controller and worker thread management for non-blocking communication with multiple ccTalk devices. - A test GUI application for testing ccTalk devices, inspecting sent / received commands, and providing a source code example for ccTalk library usage. ## Structure Overview The code is thoroughly annotated using doxygen-style comments. Below is an overview of main components of the project: ### Class `qtcc::SerialWorker` An instance of this class lives in a worker thread and is managed by `qtcc::CctalkLinkController` controller. Its main responsibility is to open / close a serial port device, send ccTalk request binary data (as received by the controller object) to the device and pass the binary response back to the controller. ### Class `qtcc::CctalkLinkController` This class creates and manages a worker thread with a `qtcc::SerialWorker` object in it. In user thread, it can be used to manage the serial port device, send binary requests, and receive binary responses from a `qtcc::SerialWorker` instance, which lives in a worker thread. ### Class `qtcc::CctalkDevice` This class provides a type-safe, high-level ccTalk command API, translating the high-level API to low-level binary ccTalk commands. An object of this class owns a `qtcc::CctalkLinkController` instance and uses it for communication with ccTalk devices. ### Classes `qtcc::BillValidatorDevice` and `qtcc::CoinAcceptorDevice` These classes simply inherit `qtcc::CctalkDevice` to help you specify different behavior for bill validators and coin acceptors in a type-safe way. ### Directory `test_gui` The `test_gui` directory contains a GUI application to showcase the ccTalk API and its usage in a user application. It can also serve as an API debugger and device tester, displaying all the sent and received commands in a log window. #### Functions `MainWindow::runSerialThreads()`, `setUpCctalkDevices()` These functions show how to set up and use bill validator and/or coin acceptor devices within an application. #### Configuration The GUI uses .ini file for ccTalk device configuration. On Linux the file is located at `~/.config/Qt-ccTalk/Qt-ccTalk GUI.ini`. The function `setUpCctalkDevices()` lists the supported configuration keys. An example configuration file may look like this: ```INI [bill_validator] serial_device_name="/dev/ttyUSB0" [cctalk] show_full_response=true ``` ## Copyright Copyright: Alexander Shaduri <[email protected]> License: 3-Clause BSD License