Ubuntu Manpage: zbarcam - scan and decode bar codes from a video device

Provided by: zbar-tools_0.10+doc-10.1build2_amd64

NAME

       zbarcam - scan and decode bar codes from a video device

SYNOPSIS


       zbarcam [-qv] [--quiet] [--nodisplay] [--xml] [--verbose[=n]] [--prescale=WxH]
               [-S[symbology.]config[=value]] [--set [symbology.]config[=value]] [device]

       zbarcam {-h | --help | --version}

DESCRIPTION

       zbarcam scans a video4linux video source (eg, a webcam) for bar codes and prints any decoded data to the
       standard output. The video stream is also displayed to the screen.

       device is the path to the video4linux (version 1 or 2) character device special file (major number 81 and
       minor number 0 thru 63). It defaults to /dev/video0

       The underlying library currently supports EAN-13 (including UPC and ISBN subsets), EAN-8, Code 128, Code
       39, and Interleaved 2 of 5 symbologies. The specific type of each detected symbol is printed with the
       decoded data.

OPTIONS

This program follows the usual GNU command line syntax. Single letter options may be bundled, long
options start with two dashes (`-´).

-h, --help
Print a short help message describing command line options to standard output and exit

--version
Print program version information to standard output and exit

-v, --verbose[=n]
Increase debug output level. Multiple -v options create more spew. Alternatively specify n to set the
debug level directly

-S[symbology.]config[=value], --set [symbology.]config[=value]
Set decoder configuration option config for symbology to value. value defaults to 1 if omitted.
symbology is one of ean13, ean8, upca, upce, isbn13, isbn10, i25, code39, code128 or the special
value *. If symbology is omitted or *, the config will be set for all applicable symbologies. These
are the currently recognized configs. Prefix a config with "no-" to negate it. Not all configs are
appropriate for every symbology.

enable
Control decoding/reporting of a symbology. For symbologies which are just subsets of ean13 (upca,
upce, isbn13, isbn10), this config controls whether the subsets are detected and reported as
such. These special cases are disabled by default, all other symbologies default to enabled

disable
Antonym for enable

emit-check
Control whether check digits are included in the decoded output. Enabled by default. This config
does not apply for code128, which never returns the check digit. It also not apply for cases
where the check digit is disabled (see add-check). Check digits are currently not implemented for
i25 or code39

add-check
Enable decode and verification of a check digit for symbologies where it is optional: this will
include code39 and i25, neither of which implements the check digit yet

ascii
Enable escape sequences that encode the full ASCII character set. This would apply to code39,
except that it´s not implemented either...

position
Enable collection of symbol position information. Enabled by default. Currently, the position
information is unusable, so you can save a few cycles by disabling this.

min-length=n, max-length=n
Bound the number of decoded characters in a valid symbol. If a decode result is outside the
configured min/max range (inclusive), it will not be reported. Set to 0 to disable the
corresponding check. This setting applies to variable-length symbologies: i25, code39, code128
and pdf417. min-length defaults to 6 for i25 and 1 for code39 (per Code 39 autodiscrimination
recommendation); all others default to 0

x-density=n, y-density=n
Adjust the density of the scanner passes. Lower values scan more of the image at the cost of
decreased performance. Setting to 0 disables scanning along that axis. Defaults are both 1.

-q, --quiet
Quiet operation; disable the audible beep otherwise emitted when a symbol is decoded

--nodisplay
Disable output video window. Video input will be scanned until the program is interrupted or
otherwise signaled

--xml
Stream results using an XML output format. This format wraps the raw data from the symbol with
information about the scan in an easy to parse format. The latest schema is available from
http://zbar.sourceforge.net/2008/barcode.xsd

--raw
Use raw symbol data output format. This format prints symbol data separated by newlines without the
additional symbology type information that is printed by default

--prescale=WxH
Request video input scaling from the camera driver. Possibly useful for reducing huge frames to
achieve a higher frame rate. Note that the driver may adjust or completely ignore the scaling request

EXAMPLES

       Scan for barcodes using the second video device and pipe the resulting data through a script that
       searches for each code in a database and does something useful with them:

           zbarcam /dev/video1 | upcrpc.py

       The upcrpc.py example script included in the examples/ subdirectory of the distribution will make an
       XMLRPC call to a popular internet UPC database and print the product description if found.

       Scan for barcodes using the default video device and stream results to stdout in XML format, also disable
       recognition of Interleaved 2 of 5 codes to prevent confusion with other symbologies or background noise:

           zbarcam --xml -Si25.disable

       Scan only for Code 39, without using the preview window - maybe for a fixed installation. To enable only
       Code 39, first all symbologies are disabled, then Code 39 is re-enabled:

           zbarcam --nodisplay -Sdisable -Scode39.enable

BUGS

       See http://sf.net/tracker/?group_id=189236&atid=928515

AUTHOR

       Jeff Brown <spadix@users.sourceforge.net>
           Lead developer

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright © 2007-2009 Jeff Brown

       All Rights Reserved

zbar-0.10                                          2009-10-23                                         ZBARCAM(1)