Introduction
UnifiedPOS is an architectural specification for application interfaces to point-of-service devices that are used in a retail environment.
This standard helps ensure that when device drivers are designed according to the specification, devices can be changed or added to the mix at the point of sale (POS) with a minimum of programming work to make them function properly, regardless of operating system. Whether you have one checkout or 1000, UnifiedPOS makes it possible for you to select the peripherals you want at the POS, not just the ones designed to work with your software.
The appendix Web Services POS (WS-POS) offers guidance, specific to retail point of sale, for connecting devices to each other over networks using web services. It addresses many of the potential problems of communicating via network infrastructure, such as providing reliable connections and recovery processes from unplanned outages or “crashes.” So a cash register that needs a printer can communicate with the nearest available printer, not just to devices directly connected to it or identified specifically as a device it can use.