What is a barcode? How does a barcode work? Etc.
Most people today have seen barcodes. They are printed on nearly every item in a grocery store. These are either UPC or EAN linear barcodes. However, there are over 300 other different types of barcodes (see the Specifications Page for more information) The next most popular linear barcode is Code 39 (also called Code 3 of 9). Also, there are 2D Barcodes (see the 2D Page for more information) that can store a large amount of information in a smaller space than linear barcodes. Most linear barcodes are nothing more than “license plates” that identifies an item. The numbers and/or letters stored in the barcode are unique identifiers that, when read, can be used by a computer to look up additional information about the item. The price and description of the item is generally not stored in the barcode. The data is read from the barcode, sent to a computer, and the computer looks up the price and description of the item from the computer’s database.
