6.1. Bar Codes

This section provides a brief introduction to bar code technology. The chief aspects of bar codes are discussed together with some of the most popular standards in use today.

6.1.1. What Is a Bar Code?

A bar code is a scheme in which printed symbols represent textual information. The printed symbols generally consist of vertical bars, spaces, and squares and dots. A method that encodes alphanumeric characters using these symbol elements to a printed symbol is called symbology. Two symbologies may use the same or different symbol elements to encode the same character string. Some characteristics of a symbology are as follows:

  • Encoding technique. A symbology with better encoding techniques allows for efficient and error-free encoding. ...

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