ZXing-C ("zebra crossing") is an open-source, multi-format linear/matrix barcode image processing library implemented in C .
It was originally ported from the Java ZXing Library but has been developed further and now includes many improvements in terms of quality and performance. It can both read and write barcodes in a number of formats.
- In pure C 17, no third-party dependencies (for the library)
- Stateless, thread-safe readers/scanners and writers/generators
- Wrappers/Bindings for:
Linear product | Linear industrial | Matrix |
---|---|---|
UPC-A | Code 39 | QR Code |
UPC-E | Code 93 | Micro QR Code |
EAN-8 | Code 128 | Aztec |
EAN-13 | Codabar | DataMatrix |
DataBar | DataBar Exanded | PDF417 |
ITF | MaxiCode (partial) |
[Note: DataBar used to be called RSS. DataBar, MaxiCode and Micro QR Code are not supported for writing.]
As an example, have a look at ZXingReader.cpp
.
- Load your image into memory (3rd-party library required).
- Call
ReadBarcodes()
fromReadBarcode.h
, the simplest API to get a list ofResult
objects.
As an example, have a look at ZXingWriter.cpp
.
- Create a
MultiFormatWriter
instance with the format you want to generate. Set encoding and margins if needed. - Call
encode()
with text content and the image size. This returns aBitMatrix
which is a binary image of the barcode wheretrue
== visual black andfalse
== visual white. - Convert the bit matrix to your native image format. See also the
ToMatrix<T>(BitMatrix&)
helper function.
[Note: those live demos are not necessarily fully up-to-date at all times.]
These are the generic instructions to build the library on Windows/macOS/Linux. For details on how to build the individual wrappers, follow the links above.
- Make sure CMake version 3.14 or newer is installed.
- Make sure a C 17 compliant compiler is installed (minimum VS 2019 16.8 / gcc 7 / clang 5).
- See the cmake
BUILD_...
options to enable the testing code, python wrapper, etc.
git clone https://github.com/zxing-cpp/zxing-cpp.git --single-branch --depth 1
cmake -S zxing-cpp -B zxing-cpp.release -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build zxing-cpp.release -j8
[Note: binary packages are available for/as vcpkg, conan, mingw and a bunch of linux distributions.]