What is a Bar Code and How Do I make Use of It?

Bar Codes are machine readable markings consisting of a row of vertical lines of varying thickness and spacing. They are typically used by the retail trade to identify merchandise at the check out to speed up the cashier and improve the accuracy of the price charged to the customer. The vertical lines are used to encode numbers and letters into the pattern. The bars represent binary ones while the spaces represent binary zeros.

There are several bar code formats used for different purposes. The retail trade generally uses the UPC-A format to mark consumer goods. Discs are marked with this variety which consists of a 12 digit number. Most Discs are marked with a bar code on the back album jacket. The reference database includes a bar code for most of the titles. The 10 data digits are included. The system digit and the check digit are not included. If the bar code for a particular title is not known, then the bar code field will be null or 0.

Bar code scanners are available for connection to PCs. There are several kinds of scanners. With a pencil wand scanner, one moves the tip of device across the bar in either direction. With a CCD scanner, one holds the wand near the bar code and the wands reads the code all at once. The wand may be connected to the PC on the serial port or connected in series with the keyboard (wedge type). In the case there is special driver software that must be installed on the PC to decode the information sent by the wand an to convert it to data. The wand may otherwise be connected between the key board and the PC. In this type of arrangement, the data from the wand appears to the PC as coming from the keyboard. In the keyboard connected wand, no special software is required on the PC and the serial port is available for other purposes.

Even in the case of the serial port connected wand, the bar code data appears to the application like it was typed in from the keyboard. If the application is ready to receive character input, like on a text field, then the data produced from the scan will be shown in the field.

If you have a large collection of discs, you will be able to speed up the process of creating the inventory with a bar code scanner. You should connect it to your PC and load any special software following the manufacturers instructions It is a good idea to test the operation of the bar code scanner from the Windows NotePad application. If the data appears in NotePad, then it will appear in this application as well. It is a good idea to setup the scanner so that it will send a enter (carriage return) after the data. This will eliminate the need to select the OK button on the Rapid Entry form. See Entering Your Records with the Rapid Tool for more information.

If you don't already have a bar code scanner, I recommend the WASP CCD Scanner manufactured by Infomatics

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This is a wedge type scanner which connects between the keyboard and the PC. It is programmed by scanner special bar codes printed in the instruction manual. It ranges in prices from about $150-190. Computer Discount Warehouse (aka CDW) was selling it for about $169.90 as of June 2002.  I prefer the wedge type scanner because they do not occupy a serial port nor do they require special software drivers.