JavaPOS Hello World in Java

Question

I would like to print a sample line on my USB POS (Point-Of-Sale) printer from a java program on Windows XP.

I tried to setup a JavaPOS implementation but I get exception after exception for a missing jpos.xml or missing javax.usb.properties file.

Can anyone tell me how to generate those files? They somewhat need to link to an implementation or something like that and I'm not sure what the (rare, unclear and incomplete) documentation means. Any other help would be appreciated.

My current printer model is Star TSP 100 with a USB connector. My printer seems to be connected correctly since I can print a file on it from windows.

Answer 1

Well, I finally found it myself. It seems like you need a part of the program from JavaPOS (that part only has interfaces and abstract classes) and you need the library from the manufacturer of the device. The jpos.xml is generated after the printer is installed. A software (also provided by the manufacturer) generates entries in the jpos.xml file based on the name of the printer and other settings. You must include this file in your program.

Finally, the following code makes the connection to the printer :

POSPrinter printer = new POSPrinter();
// open the printer object according to the entry names defined in jpos.xml
printer.open("printerName");

The method printnormal() is then used to print. If you printing asynchonously, you also need transactionPrint() to empty the buffer.