History, creation and use of barcodes
Nowadays, marketing plays a decisive role in economic development. With the help of bar codes of various types in our time, humanity has made it easier for itself to find various information, including in the field of marketing.
A bar code is graphic information that relates only to one product, source, information resource, specific service, etc.
It's no secret that barcodes are playing an increasingly important role in our lives. They are convenient due to their ease of use and the fact that each bar code carries exclusively its own information, which means that the same code cannot carry different information. Nowadays, QR codes are becoming increasingly popular. The use of this type of barcodes has become so widespread due to the massive introduction of QR codes into the software of various gadgets, and because of the possibility of customization and rapid generation, they have become a popular means of advertising for various brands.
Bar codes are generated according to certain algorithms that were developed quite a long time ago, but are relevant in our time, because the vector of development of bar codes has hardly changed. But the variety of information that can be represented in the form of a bar code has become incomparably greater, which has caused a special problem to arise: it is necessary to develop a special type of bar codes that will meet all modern standards. So, in the 2000s, so-called QR codes began to be developed, thereby, already at that time, the beginning was laid for almost all bar codes that surround us.
Subject of study — history, creation algorithms and methods of using various types of barcodes in our time.
Object of study in this work are bar codes and their varieties, which are so common, including on the Internet.
Goal of the work — determine the importance of bar codes in our time. Explain the operating principle of the algorithms responsible for generating barcodes.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:
Study scientific literature on the topic of work.
Conduct an analysis and assessment of the role of barcodes in our time.
Analyze the algorithm for creating barcodes
Learning about types of barcodes
Studying methods of using barcodes in the world
In the course of solving the problems posed in the work, various methods of scientific research were used: study, generalization, and the method of system analysis.
The work includes: introduction, two chapters, list of references, applications
IN first chapter The history of the creation of bar codes is considered: what prompted the figures to create graphical encoding of information, the algorithm for introducing bar codes, how bar codes were used and what came of it.
In second chapter The types of bar codes and the algorithm for their creation are considered, and a QR code generator program is developed.
The information base for performing the work to complete this work was made up of electronic resources.
Practical significance work is that every person who has studied this work will be able to understand the principle of operation of algorithms for generating barcodes, what and how can be represented in the form of a barcode, which in our time is quite valuable information and its owner will be able to greatly facilitate the use of such a global network like the Internet.
Chapter 1. History of barcode creation
The history of barcodes is no less important, as is their application. The main problem in studying the history of bar codes is its variability and divergence of opinions.
Nowadays, humanity increasingly considers a reliable version, which is that bar codes were created by an American student at the Higher School of Economics, Wallace Flint, in 1932. During his student activities, the future creator of bar codes believed that a feature of the layout of the best, therefore ideal, supermarket was that all products had their own punched card, which visitors would choose instead of the goods themselves. After which, the punched card was scanned by a special device, after which the signal was sent to a warehouse or conveyor belt. After which the buyer paid for the purchase and the relevant information was entered into the supermarket database. But in those days it was impossible to implement such an idea due to the high cost of reading devices. These were the times of the Great Depression in the USA, which was the main reason for the impossibility of realizing the idea. But no one forgot about Flint’s idea. [1.etiketki24]
An equally popular second theory is that a young graduate student, Joseph Woodland, was studying the concept of automatically collecting product information in 1949. He believed that Morse code, which consists of, for example, dots and dashes, would perfectly serve as the basis from which the development of an idea would begin. After several years of intensive work, Joseph was able to develop a prototype of the first bar code, which consisted of horizontal stripes. Later, in 1952, Joseph Woodland and his partner, Bernard Silver, received a patent for the linear bar code that we see every day on products in stores. [2.РоссийскийСертификационныйЦентр]
The third current version of the history of the emergence of bar codes is only slightly different from the second. The difference is that, allegedly, in 1948, Bernard Silver independently developed a system that was ordered by his friend, the president of a retail chain, that automatically reads information about the product during its control. After which, with ideas similar to those of his partner, Joseph Woodland, he decided to refine the newly emerged system and, together with a young graduate student, develop it. After which, having a ready-to-use project, they began work on distributing a linear bar code, because they considered that such systems were simply necessary for many different areas in human life: logistics, library activities, medicine, and so on.[10.Митина][12.Титова, Лось][3.ЦентрКТ]
Bar codes have become so popular not in our time, but during the time of their development and distribution. A similar method of graphically encoding information is used everywhere in our time, which is where the very problem in studying the history of its origin arises, because, in fact, the creation of bar codes is a collective work, which is what is said in each of the versions.
Chapter 1.1. Introduction of barcodes into human activities
The introduction of bar codes into all areas of human life is an extremely labor-intensive process that has its own history.
In general, the introduction of bar codes is the process of introducing technologies related to the generation and work with bar codes in various spheres of humanity.
You need to understand that you cannot simply distribute equipment to all employees and say that the campaign now uses graphical coding of information. It is necessary to go through some stages, which in our time must be carried out gradually, not to mention the time when bar codes had just been developed and began to be introduced into various spheres of human life. The following stages can be distinguished:
Analysis of goals and needs (identification of tasks within 1 area, the solution of which will be the introduction of bar codes).
Selecting the barcode type (There are various barcodes, for example, QR, see Appendix 1, or EAN-13, see Appendix 2).
Software development (creation of programs with the help of which these barcodes will be generated, for example, by the employees themselves or terminals. Combination with already implemented technologies).
Selection and configuration of the necessary equipment (to work with bar codes, it would seem that the simplest devices these days are needed: printers, scanners).
Personnel training (training employees to work with all devices that are necessary for generating, printing and scanning barcodes).
Testing (identifying shortcomings, gaps, inaccuracies in working with bar codes).
Scaling (expanding the scope of bar codes and optimizing any processes that arise in one way or another when working with bar codes).
Update (making any changes to the barcode generation algorithms or to the entire area as a whole, aimed at improving performance and simplicity in relation to the user (if the area involved somehow interacts with a large number of different clients)).
Chapter 1.2. Development of the barcode
Initially, barcodes were not used as widely as they are today.
It is already known that there are several main versions of the origin of bar codes, and each of them provides for the further history of the development of the project, which we call bar codes.
Wallace Flint tried to develop his project, one might say, just a prototype of a bar code, in the area for which he began developing a new method of graphically encoding information, that is, in retail trade, in other words, in supermarkets. But the peculiarity of Flint's situation is that it was never able to begin the mass use of bar codes. The reason for this failure is the fact that at that time in the USA, the country in which Wallace Flint lived, economic conditions were not the best, as a result of which there was simply no money for the implementation of such an unusual project at that time. Another indirect reason is the fact that at that time the creation and purchase of scanners and printing devices was an extremely resource-intensive task, which is why Flint was never able to independently implement his project. [1.etiketki24]
Joseph Woodland tried to implement his project to create a new, more convenient, method of graphically encoding information in the field, one might say, of working with railway transport. But, unfortunately, he did not take into account that this area is never ready for drastic changes, as a result of which the world community began to call the Woodland project commercially unsuccessful, since mass implementation was organized only after 15 years from the moment of the first commercial use of bar codes on cars freight trains. [2.РоссийскийСертификационныйЦентр]
Bernard Silver initially created a certain method of encoding information that would be actively used by one retail chain, after which, having found a like-minded person who had experience in creating something similar, that is, Joseph Woodland, together they tried to implement their common project in all possible spheres of humanity (logistics, library activities, medicine, etc.), the work of which could be greatly simplified, and therefore accelerated, by introducing into them a method of graphical encoding of information, already called a bar code at that time. [10.Митина][12.Титова, Лось][3. ЦентрКТ]
Chapter 1.3. The beginning of mass use of barcodes
The final stage of the development of bar codes and, in fact, the beginning of the widespread use of bar codes was in 1974, in which at the Marsh Supermarket a similar code was applied to each package of chewing gum and this, of course, is not just like that. Chewing gum is an extremely popular product among the population, which is in everyone’s sight and ear, so bar codes quickly gained popularity, showing their effectiveness and ease of use in practice, which, in turn, contributed to their extremely rapid spread to almost everything spheres of human life. This bar code appeared on the packaging of chewing gum at the suggestion of Norman Joseph Woodland, and the official birthday of bar codes was April 3, 1973, it was then that the type of bar code that was first applied to the packaging of chewing gum was developed. [2.РоссийскийСертификационныйЦентр]
Thus, we can summarize. Despite the fact that initially all bar codes had practically nothing to do with the trade sphere, they found their first mass application, accessible to everyone, in it, since those who were responsible for its development and distribution came to the conclusion that that it is in retail chains that barcodes will gain maximum popularity in the shortest time. The main reason for the rapid spread is a simple fact: each of us is constantly in stores, just like people in those days.
Nowadays, it is already very difficult to find a product in various retail chains, information about which is not graphically encoded, and without the slightest doubt we can mention the fact that bar codes many times speed up a trip to the store or any other process that is part of our everyday life and the fact that bar codes are one of the most important, in fact, inventions of mankind, which have greatly influenced the way our life looks, and therefore life now.
Chapter 2. Types of barcodes and the algorithm for their creation.
A short amount of time after the creation of barcodes, it became clear to humanity that the existence of one type for all tasks was not practical. It became obvious that it would be almost impossible for ordinary citizens to use those linear bar codes, so they began to try to create new bar codes that were more convenient for everyday life.
Surely each of us has noticed that linear bar codes nowadays are located only on the packaging of goods, and we use, generate and share only QR codes, see Appendix 1, and this is not just like that. The thing is that, for example, a QR code can be scanned from publicly available mobile gadgets, which cannot be said about linear codes, which are located on goods, because such a code can only be scanned by a scanner specially programmed for a given company. In addition, a QR code can encrypt a much larger amount of information than a linear one, which makes it the most convenient barcode for the average user.
In a survey among students of various specialties, whose average age is 16-17 years, it can be understood that almost everyone, about 98% of respondents, know what bar codes are and often come across them in their lives. About 80% of respondents believe that barcodes play an important role in our lives, while only 66% of them use them often. About 90% of respondents do not know the history of barcodes, while almost the same number, 93%, know that there are many types of barcodes. 56% of respondents believe that barcodes will continue to develop and will not be replaced by anything. 60% believe that this type of information encoding needs to be introduced into all areas of human life in order to facilitate it.
For the content of the survey, see Appendix 3 and Appendix 4.
Chapter 2.1. Types of barcodes
There are two main types of barcodes: Linear (1D), see Appendix 2 and Two-Dimensional (2D), see Appendix 1. Their difference, including names, is due not only to their shape, but also to the multiple difference in the amount of information, which these types of barcodes can have. As you might guess, two-dimensional (2D) codes can contain much more information: small text can be converted into 1 QR code, for example, which cannot be said about any of the existing linear (1D) barcodes.
It should be noted that most often we see linear codes on goods in stores, but in everyday life we see two-dimensional ones, which, of course, is not just like that. QR codes, like all two-dimensional codes, were created for the purpose that they can be used, and therefore generated and scanned, without special equipment.
As you might guess, a QR code is the most popular type of two-dimensional (2D) bar codes, but there is also a type of 2D code called DataMatrix, see Appendix 5, which is used for marking goods. The most popular type among one-dimensional (1D) bar codes in Russia is EAN-13. This abbreviation stands for European Article Number. It is widespread not only in Russia, but throughout Europe, because EAN-13 is a European barcode standard designed to encode product and manufacturer identifiers. Also, among the fairly common types of 1D codes, we can distinguish EAN-128, EAN-8. [4. interid]
Chapter 2.2. Creating barcodes manually
In order to start using any barcode, you need to generate it; of course, they are not simply drawn by hand, since all technologies associated with graphic encoding are extremely accurate.
Unfortunately, no one can say much about the generation of barcodes, and if there are separate articles on this on the Internet, then you can say with confidence that after reading or even learning how to make them, for example, you won’t be able to create a QR code yourself. The thing is that in order to generate the same QR code, it is necessary to perform a huge number of calculations, a significant part of which consists of constants and tabular data, which are not always uniform. We also must not forget the incredible diversity of both the QR codes themselves and the information that they can carry, for example, whether a number or a number, a word or text, a link or an email will be encrypted, which greatly influences the course of these calculations.
Nowadays, there are a great variety of programs for generating almost all types of barcodes, from 1D to 2D. And besides, the ease of independently creating an entry-level program, with which you can encode any type of information that is somehow useful to us in everyday life, finally puts an end to the fact that in no situation will you need it yourself, which means without any programs, including a calculator, graphically encode information. It would be much more relevant to understand how to develop this kind of program that will work properly and what is needed for this.
Chapter 2.3. Development of a program for generating QR codes
Before developing a program, you need to decide on the most basic thing in programming – choose the language in which it will be written. The choice fell on perhaps the most popular and simple programming language that is used on an industrial scale – python or, more simply put, python.
In order for a barcode generation program to perform its functions in principle, you must either write it yourself or use a ready-made library, again. In this program, the second method was implemented, since there is no chance of making an unnecessary error in the final generation. There is a special Python library invented just for creating QR codes, the name of which is qrcode, and it was chosen.
Next, in order to save and see the received QR codes in the form of a picture, you need to import a Python library called PIL, which stands for Python Image Library. This library does not require separate installation, like Tkinter, since it is initially pre-installed along with the interpreter itself or, more simply, the programming language.
In order to provide the user with the opportunity to interact normally with the code, it is necessary to create an interface through which this interaction will be carried out. To create the interface in the developed program for generating barcodes, the Tkinter library was chosen. At its core, Tkinter is a graphical interface for the Tk interface library not only for Python, which means this library is cross-platform. [metanit.?]
The development of the program was divided into three stages: creating the software part of the application, creating an interface, formatting the code into a file, .exe format, since the project product must be a program, and not just Python code. You need to start, of course, from the first stage, creating the program part of the code.
At the very beginning, it is necessary to import libraries using the import statement, see Appendix 6. At the moment when the PIL library was imported, the from import statement was used, which differs from import in that it imports only certain parts, and therefore library functions, as was necessary.
Next, the “generate_qr_code()” function was created, which determines, firstly, the version of the QR code, on which a lot depends: the higher the version, from 1 to 40, the more modules on the code itself and, in turn, the more more, the more information can be encoded in the QR code; Secondly, the program’s ability to take into account the amount of information and independently adjust the version; Thirdly, the size of the window in which the code itself will be displayed and the size of the frame in pixels. After which, following the program below, the QR code will be assigned something based on which the user needs to receive a QR code. See Appendix 7 for the final result.
Next, you need to create an interface through which, again, the user will be able to use the program itself. For the interface that was planned, 1 small window will be enough; you can create it in the manner that will be described below. First you need to create, as it were, a canvas for work using the “root=tk.Tk()” operator, then using the root.title() operator we create a title for the created window, after which you need to place the text in it using the “Label” operator =tk.Label()”, then, of course, you need to create a field for entering data, on the basis of which a QR code will be generated using the operator “entry=tk.Entry()”, then we create a button and assign a function to it “generate_qr_code()” using the operator “generate_button = tk.Button()”. One could say that that’s all, but we must not forget about the extremely important part – “root.mainloop()”, which starts the loop for processing events occurring inside the program. The interface at this stage has been created. For the final result of interface development, see Appendix 8.
For what the entire product looks like, see Appendix 9.
This is not the end, next you need to format the project in .exe format, because you need a program that can work outside the development environment. This can be done using a specialized Python library called “_pyinstaller_hooks_contib”. This library involves working with a project through the terminal, and not using operators inside the code, or, more precisely, using the “–onefile MYprogram.py” command.
With this, the development of a program for generating barcodes, or more precisely, a 2D QR code, has come to an end. What you get after launching the program and entering the request can be seen in Appendix 10 and, if possible, checked, which means scanning the received QR code and comparing the request with what happened after scanning and checking.
conclusions
During the implementation of this project, a study and analysis of existing methods of using barcodes in various fields of activity was carried out, the types of which vary, of course, depending on the field and purpose for which the barcode is created. The principles of operation of barcodes, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the possibilities of application in retail trade, warehouse accounting, logistics and other areas were studied.
The study found that barcodes are an effective tool for automating the processes of scanning, tracking and inventory of goods. They allow you to reduce the time for processing information, reduce the number of errors and increase the accuracy of accounting. Also, the study showed that barcodes of all types and types are almost impossible to create manually, but at the same time, developing a fairly convenient entry-level program designed for graphically encoding information, or, more precisely, converting it into a QR code, is quite simple and not Requires significant experience and deep knowledge of programming.
