QR Code

There are many ways to draw a QR Code. You can write your own function to draw it, or you can use an API someone else provides. For example, using the Google Chat API to generate a QR Code is the API approach. The jquery.qrcode covered in this post uses a function someone else wrote to generate the code. At first I couldn’t tell the difference between jquery.qrcode and the Google Chat API. Later I learned that the Google Chat API sends the data to Google’s servers to generate the code, while jquery.qrcode draws it directly in the browser. ...

In this post, I’ll show you how to make QR codes with the Google Chart API. A QR code is the two-dimensional barcode that’s very popular right now. Generating a 2D barcode used to be a hassle, but with the Google Chart API, you can quickly generate a QR code from just a URL. I originally planned to write a post dedicated to the Google Chart API, but I decided to split it up instead~ (I also happened to come across the site Shadow’s Tech Database, which introduces it, and I couldn’t resist writing about it~) ...

You often see people recommend Android apps online without giving a URL, just a barcode to scan for the download. That barcode is actually a QR Code, and a decoder app on Android can read the download link stored inside it. Apple Daily’s Animated News app also offers a square barcode like this. It’s also a QR Code, so you need special software to decode it into a URL. ...

A QR code is one type of two-dimensional barcode. All barcodes in the world fall into two categories: one-dimensional and two-dimensional. The barcodes cashiers scan when you buy things are one-dimensional. The square barcode you see on income tax forms every June is two-dimensional. A QR code is one kind of two-dimensional barcode. Its main function is to store data in the form of an image. When a machine scans it, it can read the data inside. That's a bit abstract, so here's a more down-to-earth explanation: say I wrote a self-introduction article. I could turn the article into a two-dimensional barcode and let others scan it. QR codes are also commonly seen in newspapers. For example, on Apple Daily's moving news, you can use your phone to scan the QR code and see the URL. Another common place for QR codes is high-speed rail tickets. If you've bought a high-speed rail ticket at a convenience store, you may have seen a square barcode on it. That barcode is a QR code. Just scan it at the ticket gate and you can get through~ XD...