DotCode Barcode SDK Programming in C++, Java, and C#

DotCode Barcode SDK Programming in C++, Java, and C#

DotCode is a kind of 2D barcode symbology used broadly in the tobacco industry. Dynamsoft added DotCode support in the latest barcode SDK version 7.4. As the top barcode algorithm company in the world, Dynamsoft's barcode SDK covers all mainstream programming languages, aiming to help software developers expedite their development for various custom scenarios. This article demonstrates how to build DotCode webcam scan apps using C++, Java, and C#.

What is DotCode?

In the DotCode Revision 4.0 released in July 2019, AIM defines DotCode as follows:

"DotCode is a public domain optical data carrier designed to be reliably readable when printed by high-speed inkjet or laser dot technologies. With this standard, real-time data like expiration date, lot number, or serial number can be applied to products in a machine-readable form at production line speeds."

How Dynamsoft Barcode Reader Decodes a DotCode

Localization

1. Input a binary image and find a set contours_A containing circular-shaped or square-shaped contours.
2. Split contours_A into several subsets (contours_A1, contours_A2, … contours_An, which may represent different DotCode symbols) in accordance with different contour sizes.
3. For every subset, based on the spatial index, find the indexed block spatialBlock_Cn with the most contours.
4. Starting from spatialBlock_Cn, search adjacent blocks for contours to form an area.
5. Calculate the angle between every two dots. According to the angular distribution, if there are two peaks and the difference is 90 degrees, we can conclude that the symbol is DotCode.

Decoding

1. Use the average module size to refine the DotCode barcode region.
2. Get the rows and columns of the DotCode symbol.
3. Map the DotCode symbol region to a (0, 1) matrix.
4. Decode the DotCode barcode according to the standard decoding rules.

DotCode C++

Create a CMake project. To generate an initial project skeleton quickly, you can install the CMake extension in Visual Studio Code.
 

Configure dependent libraries in CMakeLists.txt: