Software to read a QR code?

FOR QR CODE

Install the zbarimg command line application by running:

sudo apt-get install zbar-tools

Use the program, zbarimg provided by the package to read your QR encoded image

EXAMPLE

from command line:

zbarimg "image-file-name.jpg"

The above will display what is encoded in the image in the terminal.

IF you would like to generate QR code you can install qrencode from the repositories.

< input.txt qrencode -s 10 -o test.png

The above will encode the information in the input.txt file in an image file called test.png.

or you can input text from the console with;

qrencode -s 10 -o ubuntu.png http://www.ubuntu.com

The above will generate a QR encoded image called ubuntu.png with the url http://www.ubuntu.com encoded in it.

WEB APPLICATIONS

You can encode and decode online at: online barcodereader.com and at: ZXing Decoder Online

FOR DATAMATRIX

Install libdmtx-utils from the repository and try using the tools it provides.

Libdmtx is a library for reading and writing Data Matrix 2D barcodes, two-dimensional symbols that hold a dense pattern of data with built-in error correction.

dmtxwrite - create Data Matrix barcodes. Simple example:

dmtxwrite  -o image.png input.txt

This will encode text contained in input.txt in current directory to an image, image.png in current directory.

dmtxread - scan Data Matrix barcodes. Simple example:

dmtxread image.png

That reads the encoded image.png and writes the decoded messages to standard output.

  • See some tips here: http://libdmtx.wikidot.com/helpful-tips
  • Home page: http://libdmtx.sourceforge.net/
  • Resources: http://libdmtx.sourceforge.net/display.php?text=libdmtx.3

ZBar recognizes several kinds of bar codes, including QR codes. If I install zbar-tools

$ sudo apt-get install zbar-tools

and save that QtQR image to a file called askubuntu.png, then the zbarimg utility finds and decodes the QR code

$ zbarimg askubuntu.png 
QR-Code:http://askubuntu.com
scanned 1 barcode symbols from 1 images in 0.02 seconds

There is also a zbarcam utility, which you can use to decode QR codes spotted by your web cam.


QtQR

A graphical interface for creating and reading QR codes.

QtQR

QtQR can read QR codes from image files or from a webcam. It is able to recognise a number of specific types of QR code including web links, email addresses/messages, SMS messages and telephone numbers.

You could potentially scan the QR code from the book using a webcam. If you do this, ensure there is enough light and that you are holding the QR code flat and still. You will see a window with the webcam input on the screen. Wait until green dots appear then close the window and QtQR will tell you what was contained in the QR code.

You can install by adding the PPA ppa:qr-tools-developers/qr-tools-stable and installing the package qtqr.

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