Building a Simple Point-of-Sales System in C Language

Discover how to create a basic Point-of-Sales system in C programming. Learn how to fix a common issue with accumulating totals for seamless transactions.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/70847389/ asked by the user 'kichona' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/15034852/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/70847748/ provided by the user 'Marco' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/3721542/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Building a Simple Point-of-Sales System in C Language: A Beginner's Guide

Creating a Point-of-Sales (POS) system can be an exciting project, especially for those new to programming. If you're just starting with C programming and are eager to develop functional applications, this guide walks you through the basics of building a simple POS program. We’ll also address a common challenge: ensuring that the total amount does not accumulate over multiple transactions.

Understanding the Point-of-Sales Program

Before we dive into the code, let's outline what our POS system will do:

Display a list of available products along with their prices.

Allow users to input product codes and quantities for their purchases.

Calculate the amount for each transaction and display the total.

Handle cash payments and calculate change.

Enable multiple transactions without carrying over totals from previous transactions.

Code Breakdown

Here’s the code we’ll be working with that serves as the foundation of our POS system:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The Problem with Accumulating Totals

As mentioned in the question, a common problem arises where the total amount from previous transactions adds up to the new amount. This happens because the total variable accumulates values without being reset.

Solution: Resetting the Total

To fix this issue, we need to ensure that the total variable is reset at the beginning of each transaction. The solution is simple: add total = 0; after the line that clears the console with system("cls");. Here's how your modified code block should look:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

By resetting the total variable, each transaction will start with a clean slate, preventing any previous amounts from affecting the new total.

Conclusion

Building a Point-of-Sales system in C is a fantastic way to strengthen your programming skills. By addressing common pitfalls such as accumulating totals, you can create a more reliable and user-friendly application. Remember to explore and modify the code, adding new features or products as you see fit. Happy coding!