An interactive system consists of one or more portables connected in real time to a computer. In these systems, the central computer manages data collection and verification as the user enters data. A batch system uses one or more portables to gather data that is stored for later input to a computer. This is the most common and most economical portable system.
Batch systems can do only limited validity checking.
A hybrid system is a combination of the two. Interactive Systems Interactive systems have several advantages over batch systems. Almost all systems where bar code hardware is in a fixed location are interactive systems. An interactive system can check many more variables when performing data verification. For example, a batch system can check the status of a part number only against the last part numbers that were sent to the portable.