6. Advanced Chip Encoding Framework (ACEF)
Included in the printer driver is the Advanced Chip Encoding Framework, which is capable of
handling all card encoding itself. The mechanism is independent from the application, allowing
virtually any Windows based application to perform chip encoding.
The main features will be described in detail in the following chapters. These are:
- Plugin architecture
- Single-point and one-time software and hardware setup with the capability to test the setup from
within the driver, without the need of an external application
- Multi-printer printing and encoding (in combination with XID590i's Advanced Intelligent Printer
Management)
- Printing and encoding over network
- Precoding
- Application independency through the use of an Encoding String
The printer driver handles all of the synchronization and error scheduling of the jobs and initiates
the encoding sequence by calling the corresponding plugins.
The encoding itself, i.e. the communication with the encoder hardware and the chip card is done by
a small piece of external software that is loaded and executed by the driver. This software is fed
with all the necessary information which is needed to perform the encoding on the chip.
Since there is a large combination of different chips and customer requirements, Digital
Identification Solutions offers several options for the encoding plugins:
1.
Ready-made highly configurable encoding plugins for a diversity of chips on the market are
available for sale. The plugins have been developed to provide the most flexibility, while
maintaining a high level of security and user friendliness.
2.
Customized plugins can be developed, which meet the exact requirements of the encoding, in case
the ready-made plugins do not meet them or the chip or the encoder hardware is not yet
supported. This however must be discussed with your local dealer.
3.
Application developers can request a free development package, demonstrating the development
of a plugin. This option should be used if the ready-made plugins do not meet the requirements or
a yet unsupported chip or encoder hardware is used, or with high security applications where the
encoding secret may not be configurable in a user interface or in configuration file.
The configuration is done in the Administration Center's section "Plugin Manager".
Prima 2e Driver Manual
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