A keyboard is an interface that allows a device without a keyboard to be connected to a computer as if it were sending data from the keyboard. Since most data entry software is configured to get data from a keyboard, it is necessary to use a keyboard wedge if you want to connect a peripheral, such as a barcode reader or magnetic stripe reader, and send information to the keyboard. Program. The wedge is so named because the physical version “wedge” between the keyboard and the computer. The keyboard is connected to the wedge, which is in turn connected to the computer, so data can be entered via the keyboard or other peripheral.
With a keyboard, barcode scanners can be used to enter data into a computer.
There are also versions of keyboard software. These programs take the information sent by the external input device, usually connected via a COM or USB port, and send it through the operating system’s keyboard buffer, so that the computer thinks the information was sent through the keyboard. keyboard.
Magnetic card readers can be connected to a computer with a keyboard.
A keyboard can be useful when using software with a peripheral for which the software was not designed. While some data entry programs are written specifically with barcode scanners or magnetic stripe readers in mind, most are written with the assumption that a keyboard will be the only device used for data entry. However, for efficiency, many companies use barcodes instead of manually entering the unit code, and since most people don’t read barcodes, some method was needed to translate the barcode into its constituent information and pass it to the computer as alphanumeric data. The keyboard wedge was developed in the early days of computing by a programmer at Altek Instruments in Great Britain.
Older keyboard wedges are designed to interface with a computer through a PS/2 port, as this is the traditional keyboard port. Newer versions often offer an interface for both a PS/2 cable and a USB cable, as USB keyboards become more and more standard. Some wedges are designed to interface with proprietary ports such as IBM port 17 or OCIA. This type of keyboard is getting harder to find, but there are still small companies out there to fill the niche.
When a keyboard is in use, a computer keyboard can still be used to enter data.
