Codabar
Codabar is a variable-length linear barcode symbology developed in 1972 and standardized in the AIM-BC3-2000 specification.
STRICH implements Rationalized Codabar, which uses a fixed ratio of 3:1 for the wide and narrow elements, as recommended in the AIM-BC3-2000 specification. Previous specifications such as the original Pitney-Bowes specification used a fixed character width and varying wide-narrow ratios.
Codabar is widely used in libraries. A sample Codabar barcode is shown below.
Symbology Characteristics
Configuration name |
|
AIM specification | AIM-BC3-2000 |
Encodable character set | Numeric (0-9), six special characters (-, $, :, /, ., +) and four start/stop characters (A, B, C, D) that are transmitted as well as they are used to distinguish applications. |
Integrity protection | Optional check character |
Quiet zone | Leading and trailing quiet zone of at least ten modules (10X) is required |
Configuration Options
Option | Description | Sample Configuration | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
minLen | The minimum length of scanned codes |
const config = {
engine: {
symbologies: [
{ name: "codabar", minLen: 8 }
]
}
}
| 4 |
maxLen | The maximum length of scanned codes |
const config = {
engine: {
symbologies: [
{ name: "codabar", maxLen: 16 }
]
}
}
| 32 |
qz | The minimum size of the quiet zone, in modules (X) |
const config = {
engine: {
symbologies: [
{ name: "codabar", qz: 10 }
]
}
}
| 5 |
Start/Stop Characters
Codabar uses four distinct start/stop characters, A, B, C and D. Although the AIM specification says otherwise, the start/stop characters are often not included in the human-readable interpretation printed below the barcode.
The SDK includes start/stop characters in its output, as they can be used for application-specific purposes.
Start and stop characters also count towards the barcode length and need to be taken into consideration when using minLen and/or maxLen to restrict the acceptable barcode length.
Example: Codabar library barcode
The Codabar barcode below encodes the value A34444913793584B, with A used as start character and B as stop character. The total length of the barcode is 16.
To restrict the SDK to only these types of barcodes, you could set minLen and maxLen to the 16.