The keys of the 21st century: The Barcode & The QR Code

This term we were working with QR codes so, now, I am going to talk about barcodes. Why?

Because QR codes are an evolution of barcodes. QR codes store the  information in two dimensions and can be scanned vertically or horizontally, meanwhile, barcodes store information in one dimension and only can be scanned horizontally.

Barcodes are a form to represent information with vertical lines and number. They were created as a form of visual Morse code. We can saw that  they are the key to gain access to a record of a database where information resides,namely they contain a key that identifies the product. They were created in Philadelphia by a student of New Jersey called Norman Woodland. He had worked in IBM.

The first barcode was created in 1952 and it was circular because when Woodland thought it was on the beach doing circles. It had printing problems  so the shop owners didn't want to adopt this new technology. All this changed in the early 70s when the Universal Product Code was designed, a barcode format that is composed by one number with 12 digits.

They were created because they are an easy, precise and fast way to code information and collect data, also, they identify objects and facilitates the entry of information, eliminating the possibility of error.

The thickness of the bars and separation between them is very important because the meaning can change. As in the Latin Alphabet , there are different languages, the barcodes have differents formats.

Ángela Rodríguez González