Magnetic Card Reader Software

Magnetic cards are heavily used in today's world in almost every sphere of life. Starting with credit/debit/ATM cards to driving license and even swipe card to enter workplace, everywhere magnetic cards are used under different names. A magnetic card is normally a rectangular plastic object used to store digital data either in the form of a magnetic object embedded within it or as a magnetic stripe attached to its exterior, similar to the one we see at the back of our credit/debit cards.

Magnetic card reader is an electronic device designed to read stored information from a magnetic card. In contrast with Card Terminals, which are also used to read magnetic cards but are self-contained processing deivces, Magnetic Card Reader is generally an electronic unit that interfaces with a PC for majority of processing requirements. The associated computer needs to have a driver, which is a special software to operate the reader. This software is generically called Magnetic Card Reader Software, which comes in different names and complexities depending on the configuration and operating systems used in the PC.

The driver or magnetic card reader software plays an instrumental role in the magnetic card reading process. When the card is read by swiping or holding the card next to the reader, electromagnetic signals are passed from the card to the reader which are then amplified and recovered in the reader assembly. The driver uses advanced level programming embedded into it to handle the data and streamline the whole operation.

Depending on the specific application that the driver has been programmed for, it can operate in a fashion as simple as reading the card in a forward direction, or complex enough to read the card in any direction with a corresponding encoding format.The exact methodology and operating mode of the driver depends on the application, information storage technique used in the card, platform used in the associated PC and many other technical factors. The driver needs to be upgraded to embed modified programs from time to time, based on the platform change/upgrade or any other technical changes that may happen in the magnetic reader assembly.

Magnetic card readers can be easily integrated with a PC utilizing Windows 98/ME, 2000 or XP platforms. However, then can also be integrated with other platforms like UNIX, LINUX, MAC etc using different type of driver or reader software. Hence it is of paramount importance to ensure the compatibility between the driver and OS, while procuring or installing a magnetic card reader system.

There are various magnetic reader software or driver available in the market for MAC, WINDOWS or LINUX platform. There are applications where drivers compatible to all platforms are available. One example would be the POS software, normally used in shopping malls or retail outlets. This can be integrated with MAC, WINDOW, or LINUX platforms by using particular driver specific to that platform.