MfiBtPrinterConnection Class Reference

Establishes a Bluetooth connection to a printer. More...

#import <MfiBtPrinterConnection.h>

Inheritance diagram for MfiBtPrinterConnection:

Instance Methods
(id)	- initWithSerialNumber:
	Initializes a new instance of the MfiBtPrinterConnection class.
(id)	- initWithSerialNumber:withMaxTimeoutForRead:andWithTimeToWaitForMoreData:
	Initializes a new instance of the MfiBtPrinterConnection class.
(void)	- setTimeToWaitAfterWriteInMilliseconds:
	Overrides the time the write: method will wait after writing data to the stream.
(void)	- setTimeToWaitAfterReadInMilliseconds:
	Overrides the time the read: method will wait after writing data to the stream.
(void)	- setTimeToWaitBeforeCloseInMilliseconds:
	Overrides the time the close: method will wait before closing the connection.
Instance Methods inherited from <ZebraPrinterConnection>
(NSString *)	- toString
	See the classes which implement this method for the format of the description string.
(NSInteger)	- getMaxTimeoutForRead
	Returns the maximum time, in milliseconds, to wait for any data to be received.
(NSInteger)	- getTimeToWaitForMoreData
	Returns the maximum time, in milliseconds, to wait between reads after the initial read.
(BOOL)	- isConnected
	Returns YES if the connection is open.
(BOOL)	- open
	Opens the connection to a device.
(void)	- close
	Closes this connection and releases any system resources associated with the connection.
(NSInteger)	- write:error:
	Writes the number of bytes from data to the connection.
(NSData *)	- read:
	Reads all the available data from the connection.
(BOOL)	- hasBytesAvailable
	Returns YES if at least one byte is available for reading from this connection.
(void)	- waitForData:
	Causes the currently executing thread to sleep until hasBytesAvailable equals YES, or for a maximum of maxTimeout milliseconds.

Detailed Description

Establishes a Bluetooth connection to a printer.

Remarks

This class will only work with Zebra printers which have the Made For iPod/iPhone certification.

You need to include the External Accessory framework in your project to be able to use this class

You need to include the Zebra printer protocol string "com.zebra.rawport" in your info.plist file under "Supported external accessory protocols"

You need to Set the key "Required Background modes" to "App Communicates with an accessory" in your app's plist file

#import <ExternalAccessory/ExternalAccessory.h>
#import "MfiBtPrinterConnection.h"
-(void)sendZplOverBluetooth{

NSString *serialNumber = @"";
//Find the Zebra Bluetooth Accessory
EAAccessoryManager *sam = [EAAccessoryManager sharedAccessoryManager];
NSArray * connectedAccessories = [sam connectedAccessories];
for (EAAccessory *accessory in connectedAccessories) {
if([accessory.protocolStrings indexOfObject:@"com.zebra.rawport"] != NSNotFound){
serialNumber = accessory.serialNumber;
break;
//Note: This will find the first printer connected! If you have multiple Zebra printers connected, you should display a list to the user and have him select the one they wish to use
}
}
// Instantiate connection to Zebra Bluetooth accessory
id<ZebraPrinterConnection, NSObject> thePrinterConn = [[MfiBtPrinterConnection alloc] initWithSerialNumber:serialNumber];

// Open the connection - physical connection is established here.
BOOL success = [thePrinterConn open];

// This example prints "This is a ZPL test." near the top of the label.
NSString *zplData = @"^XA^FO20,20^A0N,25,25^FDThis is a ZPL test.^FS^XZ";

NSError *error = nil;
// Send the data to printer as a byte array.
success = success && [thePrinterConn write:[zplData dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding] error:&error];

if (success != YES || error != nil) {
UIAlertView *errorAlert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Error" message:[error localizedDescription] delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"Ok" otherButtonTitles:nil];
[errorAlert show];
[errorAlert release];
}
// Close the connection to release resources.
[thePrinterConn close];

[thePrinterConn release];
}

-(void)sendCpclOverBluetooth {
NSString *serialNumber = @"";
//Find the Zebra Bluetooth Accessory
EAAccessoryManager *sam = [EAAccessoryManager sharedAccessoryManager];
NSArray * connectedAccessories = [sam connectedAccessories];
for (EAAccessory *accessory in connectedAccessories) {
if([accessory.protocolStrings indexOfObject:@"com.zebra.rawport"] != NSNotFound){
serialNumber = accessory.serialNumber;
break;
//Note: This will find the first printer connected! If you have multiple Zebra printers connected, you should display a list to the user and have him select the one they wish to use
}
}
// Instantiate connection to Zebra Bluetooth accessory
id<ZebraPrinterConnection, NSObject> thePrinterConn = [[MfiBtPrinterConnection alloc] initWithSerialNumber:serialNumber];

// Open the connection - physical connection is established here.
BOOL success = [thePrinterConn open];

// This example prints "This is a CPCL test." near the top of the label.
NSString *cpclData = @"! 0 200 200 210 1\r\nTEXT 4 0 30 40 This is a CPCL test.\r\nFORM\r\nPRINT\r\n";

NSError *error = nil;
// Send the data to printer as a byte array.
success = success && [thePrinterConn write:[cpclData dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding] error:&error];

if (success != YES || error != nil) {
UIAlertView *errorAlert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Error" message:[error localizedDescription] delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"Ok" otherButtonTitles:nil];
[errorAlert show];
[errorAlert release];
}

// Close the connection to release resources.
[thePrinterConn close];

[thePrinterConn release];
}

-(void)sampleWithGCD {
//Dispatch this task to the default queue
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), ^ {
// Instantiate connection to Zebra Bluetooth accessory
id<ZebraPrinterConnection, NSObject> thePrinterConn = [[MfiBtPrinterConnection alloc] initWithSerialNumber:@"SomeSerialNumer..."];

// Open the connection - physical connection is established here.
BOOL success = [thePrinterConn open];

// This example prints "This is a ZPL test." near the top of the label.
NSString *zplData = @"^XA^FO20,20^A0N,25,25^FDThis is a ZPL test.^FS^XZ";

NSError *error = nil;
// Send the data to printer as a byte array.
success = success && [thePrinterConn write:[zplData dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding] error:&error];

//Dispath GUI work back on to the main queue!
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
if (success != YES || error != nil) {
UIAlertView *errorAlert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Error" message:[error localizedDescription] delegate:nil cancelButtonTitle:@"Ok" otherButtonTitles:nil];
[errorAlert show];
[errorAlert release];
}
});

// Close the connection to release resources.
[thePrinterConn close];

[thePrinterConn release];

});
}

Method Documentation

- (id) initWithSerialNumber:

(NSString *)

aSerialNumber

Initializes a new instance of the MfiBtPrinterConnection class.

This constructor will use the default timeouts for read: (ZebraPrinterConnection-p). The default timeout is a maximum of 10 seconds for any data to be received. If no more data is available after 500 milliseconds the read operation is assumed to be complete.
To specify timeouts other than the defaults, use:
initWithSerialNumber:withMaxTimeoutForRead:andWithTimeToWaitForMoreData:

Parameters

aSerialNumber

The device's serial number. serialNumber is a property of EAAccessory.

- (id) initWithSerialNumber:		(NSString *)	aSerialNumber
withMaxTimeoutForRead:		(NSInteger)	aMaxTimeoutForRead
andWithTimeToWaitForMoreData:		(NSInteger)	aTimeToWaitForMoreData

Initializes a new instance of the MfiBtPrinterConnection class.

This constructor will use the specified timeouts for read: (ZebraPrinterConnection-p). The timeout is a maximum of maxTimeoutForRead milliseconds for any data to be received. If no more data is available after timeToWaitForMoreData milliseconds the read operation is assumed to be complete.

Parameters

aSerialNumber	The device's serial number. serialNumber is a property of EAAccessory.
aMaxTimeoutForRead	The maximum time, in milliseconds, to wait for any data to be received.
aTimeToWaitForMoreData	The maximum time, in milliseconds, to wait in-between reads after the initial read.

- (void) setTimeToWaitAfterReadInMilliseconds:

(NSInteger)

aTimeInMs

Overrides the time the read: method will wait after writing data to the stream.

The default time is 10ms. This method is used to adapt to different Bluetooth radio performance requirements. If you notice an issue writing bytes, try increasing this time.

Parameters

aTimeInMs

Time in milliseconds to wait between reads.

- (void) setTimeToWaitAfterWriteInMilliseconds:

(NSInteger)

aTimeInMs

Overrides the time the write: method will wait after writing data to the stream.

The default time is 60ms. This method is used to adapt to different Bluetooth radio performance requirements. If you notice an issue writing bytes, try increasing this time.

Parameters

aTimeInMs

Time in milliseconds to wait between writes.

- (void) setTimeToWaitBeforeCloseInMilliseconds:

(NSInteger)

aTimeInMs

Overrides the time the close: method will wait before closing the connection.

The default time is 5000ms. This method is used to adapt to different Bluetooth radio performance requirements. If you notice an issue writing bytes, try increasing this time.

Parameters

aTimeInMs

Time in milliseconds to wait between writes.

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The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

• MfiBtPrinterConnection.h