Web application and hardware interaction

Question

First off, let me apologize if this has been asked already, but I can’t seem to locate a solid answer.

Is there any web application language or related process that will allow a web app to interact with the local PC hardware? I am trying to see if there is a way to have a web page interface with a local scanner device to capture, write file, and upload the images. I read something about Silverlight being able to read from USB keys, but that is the extent of what I have found.

Any thoughts on this or ideas of places to look for more information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

If you mean that you want the application to interact with the machine that is running the browser, then, no, that would be a serious security hole.

You can use ActiveX controls, or maybe SilverLight to create applications that have more access to the client machine.

You might also be better off creating a ClickOnce application that runs on the users system and uploads the data to your web server.

BTW, you seem to be assuming that the user is running on a PC. What if they'e using a Linux workstation, or a Macintosh?