README.md

Barcode to Text

Give it an input string and it will output a scannable barcode made entirely of Block Element characters

                        █▐▁▌▁▐█▁▌▐▌█▁▌▁▐▐▐█▁▐▌█▁▐█▐▐▌

Create your own!

Recommended Scanners

• Android

  • QR & Barcode Scanner (F-Droid)
    • Supports directly scanning Dark-mode barcodes (white on black), though may be a bit fiddly
    • May have issues loading images from gallery (tested on Android 11)
  • Binary Eye (F-Droid)

• Desktop

  • zbar

Implemented Barcode Symbologies

• Interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF)

  • Pros
    • Small barcode size
  • Cons
    • No error checking, which can occasionally lead to misinterpreted scans
    • Can only encode digits
    • Input length must be a multiple of 2
    • Scanners may not accept data that is less than 6 digits (ITF-6)

• Code 128

  • Pros
    • Can encode any printable 7-bit ASCII character
    • Error checking
  • Cons
    • Barcodes can become rather long
  • Optimisation Hints
    • If input is entirely made of digits, the encoder employs a system similar to ITF, but with error checking and allowing odd input lengths
    • If 4 or more digits (in multiples of 2) are encountered, the last digit adds no length to the barcode