In a very basic and simple term, a barcode is a square or rectangle with a combination of vertical black lines of varying thickness and height, white space, and numbers that together identify specific product and or their relevant information. There are different types of barcodes; Linear or 1D barcodes are what most people visualize when they picture a barcode – black vertical bars with numbers below them and Matrix or 2D barcodes which store additional information, including quantity, images, and website URLs.

Today, barcodes are found on not only household items from supermarkets or retail stores, but in asset tags, badges, tickets, payment instructions, coupons, and posters to name a few. In each case, they identify a service, product, or person and encode important details.