How do bar codes work?

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The entire system is complete wizardry to me. The laser itself is witchcraft but the most amazing part is the database. I could imagine that stores somehow associate a code with a product when they add it to their inventory system but what prevents two manufacturers from using the same bar codes on different products. Is there a master database somewhere and who is responsible for managing it?

Edit: I really appreciate all the answers about the database aspect of this but I am still wondering how the actual laser works. Seems like it has to be fairly simple because the technology has been around for decades, long before ‘modern’ computers.

In: Technology

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Barcodes don’t really need to be like a complex thing. Just helps identify a product. You can register UPC codes but I feel like that’s pointless. Maybe if you’re in an industry where your uploading huge catalogs of products from different vendors and such, it would matter more.

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