This example was designed to give you a basic understanding of how to setup PC/SC communication with a reader and card. This is a great starting point, however it leaves out the most important part, card communication. We have left this out purposfully because every card communicates differently.

In order to actually communicate with the card you will need to issue calls to SCartTransmit. This will most likely take the form of composing and sending APDU's. An APDU is basically a 'function call' to the card, complete with input, output and return values. If you are not familiar with APDU's and the APDU's for your specific card please ask the card manufacturer for card specifications. If you are a neophyte in the world of smart card programming we also recommend you get a basic book on smart cards in order to better understand how things work.

There is also a website called Smart Card Basics that is a very good starting point for understanding how smarct cards work.

Hopfully this application has provided a starting point for you in your PC/SC development, allowing you to get a basic understanding of how easy it can be to access smart cards from any PC/SC compliant reader.