We just built a simple clock-in and clock-out system for our grocery. And we are testing many functions based on many actual situations.
Let us explore this simple system, and we will talk about tech stacks.
Firstly, we still use tkinter as our desktop platform, which has less code to realize functions. Second, we will use the default camera of laptop(many desktops need to set up an extra camera) to realize the core function of the clock-in and clock-out system.
We need to run these commands on our terminal.
pip install opencv-python
pip install ttkbootstrap
This time we put all code into one Class and let our code become more concise and reduce lines of code. We just focus on function name and self. It is easier to read all functions.
Let us run our laptop app, and we could change it to a dark theme. You could use PyInstaller if you need it.
As an employer or manager, you need to register all employees' information first. We have created this function first, and the default password is 12345. You need to upload employee ID, name, or other things into the database.
Now it is working time now, and employee Beta could clock in, and the camera will start to work. It will get a self-portrait image immediately and will be sent to the database. The OpenCV library will help us do this. It still has the start break or begin work function.
We do not want to explain more about laptop app functions; we just pasted some screenshots in there.
Some people may need a LAN network to support your business (factory, warehouse, etc.). For instance, you could change this app to run on two laptops in one LAN network. And managers could check database details (self-portrait image) on their laptops. We do not need to buy expensive cloud or internet. We just need a router and wired connection for our hardware and software.
In our situation, we do not need to build a small web server to transfer data. You could build your web server in your production environment.
When we are using the OpenCV library in our app, we will get cpp errors. Which means when you are using Python, you may use cpp functions. You do not need to worry about which language you are using. You need to think about how you can realize the function you want.