IS4C or Integrated Systems for Co-ops is a free

Free software

Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

 web-based

Web application

A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...

 point of sale

Point of sale

Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...

 software for retail stores

Retailing

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 initially developed by Tak Tang for the Wedge Community Co-op

Wedge Community Co-op

The Wedge Community Co-op or The Wedge is a food cooperative located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Located at 2105 Lyndale Ave South, the Wedge derives its name from the popular nickname for the Lowry Hill East neighborhood, called "The Wedge" due to its shape...

 in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. The software utilizes an SQL

SQL

SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....

 database and enables tracking of customer purchase totals that cooperatives use in calculating patronage refunds for their members. IS4C and Fannie, its backend management system were written almost exclusively in PHP

PHP

PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...

. IS4C software is used primarily by food cooperatives and has been released under the GNU General Public License

GNU General Public License

The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....

. Versions of IS4C have been adopted by Whole Foods Co-op

Whole Foods Co-op

Whole Foods Co-op is a food cooperative located in Duluth, Minnesota. Founded in 1970 by the members of a food buying club, the grocery is owned by over 5000 active member-owners and is a member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association.-History:...

, People's Food Co-op

People's Food Co-op (Portland)

People's Food Co-op is a food cooperative located in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1970 by the members of a food-buying club, the co-op is owned by over 3000 member owners and is a member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association and the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives.-Board...

,, Alberta Cooperative Grocery,, River Valley Market, and the Clintonville Community Market Co-op in Columbus, Ohio.

External links

• IS4C home
• IS4C Project on Google Code
• Co-ops making history! World's first open-source POS system at People's Food Co-op. Portland Independent Media Center.