Using the Data Editing Functions
The data editing function is often applied to driver’s licenses, where the magnetic stripe contains three tracks of information about the license holder, and the host application may need only certain details (such as name, address, and birth date) rather than all the data the stripe holds.
In the AAMVA format, for example, the unedited output for a driver’s license might look like this:
TRACK 1: %CABREA^DOE$JANE$R$^310 S JEFFERSON ST^?
TRACK 2: ;636014028198457=051219639924?
TRACK 3: %!!92870 C F503121BLKBRN D69119980116?
Track 1 contains the license holder’s name and address. Track 2 includes the expiration date and the holder’s birthdate. Track 3 includes such details as height, weight, sex, hair, and eye color.
You can identify exactly what fields the various bits of data occupy by referring to the AAMVA format in Appendix C. Read the data from a sample license, print it out, and then mark the fields accordingly. Now decide what fields of data you need, and what fields of data you don’t need. For instance, if you don’t need eye and hair colors, you can discard this data once it is read and decoded. You don’t need to send it to the host.
Once you know what data you’ll need for your host application, decide what order you’ll need it in. Should the name come first? Should the city come last? Is there other data or formatting you need? If so, you will have to add fields that contain that data.
Knowing what fields you need to add, drop, and
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