orca-lookup-php

This open source project is a an example of how to scan barcodes using a smartphone and present data from your system using PHP.

How it works:

A user scans a barcode using their smartphone
Orca Scan sends a HTTP GET request to your endpoint with ?barcode=value
Your system queries a database or internal API for a barcode match
Your system returns the data in JSON format with keys matching column names
The Orca Scan mobile app presents that data to the user

If the mobile user has update permission and saves the data, it will saved to your Orca sheet.

Install

First ensure you have PHP installed:

# should return 7.1 or higher
php -v

Then execute the following:

# download this example code
git clone https://github.com/orca-scan/orca-lookup-php.git

# go into the new directory
cd orca-lookup-php

Run

# start the server
php -S localhost:5000

Visit http://localhost:5000?barcode=4S3BMHB68B3286050 to see the following:

{
    "VIN": "4S3BMHB68B3286050",
    "Make": "SUBARU",
    "Model": "Legacy",
    "Manufacturer Name": "FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES U.S.A",
    "Vehicle Type": "PASSENGER CAR",
    "Year": 1992
}

How this example works

This is a very simple example using 1 index.php script:

<?php
    // set HTTP content type
    header("Content-Type: application/json");

    // get the incoming barcode sent from Orca Scan (scanned by a user)
    $barcode = $_GET['barcode'];

    // TODO: query a database or API to retrieve some data based on barcode value

    // build up data to return as an object (property names must match Orca column names inc spaces)
    $data = [
        'VIN' => $barcode,
        'Make' => "SUBARU",
        'Model' => "Legacy",
        'Manufacturer Name' => "FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES U.S.A",
        'Vehicle Type' => "PASSENGER CAR",
        'Year' => 1992
    ];

    // return data as JSON object
    echo json_encode($data);
?>

Troubleshooting

If you run into any issues not listed here, please open a ticket.

Examples in other langauges

History

For change-log, check releases.

orca-scan/orca-lookup-php