Welcome to qccat(1)!

qccat(1) is a fairly simple utility that decodes and parses CueCat barcode
scanner input into a form suitable for shell scripts and the like. It is
based on cat.pl, a public domain decoder/parser that I believe was
written by Colin Cross of MIT; it's written in Perl and is available under
terms of the Mozilla Public License (http://www.mozilla.org). 

The name is easily explained: it cat(1)s the output of a CueCat to STDOUT.
It was greatly expanded with a little help from the Perl Cookbook to make a
proper shell command. It includes a number of options for transforming the
output, such as serial number stripping and human-readable output. 

Requirements: This code was developed using Perl 5 and Red Hat Linux 6.0.
It requires a CueCat barcode scanner (and therefore anything that accepts
a PS/2 keyboard, unless you're using this after DC has managed to deliver
a USB version) or a source of input that can mimic a CueCat. It should
accept declawed (serial number disabled) CueCats with no argument, but
cannot specifically detect them at this time (I hope to add this as a
feature, though). It does not require a driver; it accepts raw CueCat
output directly through the keyboard wedge interface.

Files

README -- this file
qccat -- the perl script -- goes in your /usr/bin directory
qccat.1 -- man page
qcbarcodes.txt -- a list of accepted bar code input by Pierre-Philippe
Coupard (pierre@lineo.com). Blatantly stolen.

Legal Matters

Digital Convergence has taken to issuing cease-and-desist orders to people
who have written software to support the CueCat. It is my belief based on
an informal consultation with a lawyer I know that these orders are
invalid, since (despite DC's licensing terms to the contrary) I own my
CueCat and am free to use it as I wish. The proverb: Never give someone a
gun and tell them not to use it. Their argument that their intellectual
property is being violated seems to be a smokescreen as they have not
given specific responses when challenged; note therefore that any C&D
orders without a specific charge will be ignored. Fair use -- look it up.

It is my realization that since the CueCat is a loss-leader for both
Digital Convergence and Tandy, they lose money for every CueCat customer
they pick up; frankly, given that the software being written for it adds
value to every CueCat out there, I don't care. The implications of
third-party hackers getting involved are a matter for DC to take up with
their shareholders and VCs and the fact that their business model didn't
anticipate this is entirely their problem.

WARNING: The CueCat output stream includes a unique serial number used by
Digital Convergence to identify the CueCat sending the data stream. The
existence of such information is highly controversial since it infringes
on user privacy. qccat(1) does not specifically make use of this
information, but makes it trivially available to any shell script that
might have a need to do so. Exercise responsibility when using this
information.

Brian Connors
connorbd@yahoo.com
22 September 2000
