Barcodes

The Common Bar Code - Part I


How would Satan make you bare his mark - 666? If he stamped it on your hand or forehead you would immediately recognize it as it is described in the bible and you would fight them by refusing it. So how are they going to get you to receive the mark without force? Answer; subtly introduce it as an inconspicuous barcode!


To really make the cashless society convenient and "identifiable" there is nothing like a bar code. Just about everything you can buy has a "bar code" on it. You know, those liney things they scan at the supermarket... Bar codes come in several formats and flavors, but when it comes to retail operations and consumer applications, the most common kinds are the UPC/EAN-13 format...

In most bar codes, numbers are coded as two bars. The length of the bars up and down does not matter to the computer. What does matter is the thickness of the lines and the thickness of the gaps between them. You'll also notice two long skinny lines on the left, in the middle, and on the right hand side. These are referred to as start and stop scan codes. On the above example, you can see the start codes at the left, in the middle and the right. You can also see them even more clearly on the example below.


The code patterns used on the left 5 numbers are different from the ones on the right 5 numbers.


The UPC/EAN-13 Specification, or "the common barcode."


Each line used is either fat, medium, or skinny. Gaps appear to be likewise. If you look at the example to the left you'll see the two start code lines with a circle drawn around the bottom ends. You can also see the middle and stop scan codes with the same circles. You can see that a 0 is a medium and skinny line, a 1 is two medium lines, etc., etc.


Notice the 6 on the right side. Two skinny lines. Can you see any difference between the 6 and the start and stop scan codes? Any difference you see between them is due to the limitations of the graphics program I used to scan and enhance the images.


Why would two skinny lines represent a 6? Maybe it's because in pure computer code (binary), a 6 is represented as 0110...


In 1977 the EAN code was used by 12 countries (all the countries of the European Community). Today, use of the EAN code has spread to all west European countries, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan.


"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark in his right hand or in his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666." -Revelation 13:16