What term describes a pattern of vertical lines of varying width that encodes data for scanning?

What term describes a pattern of vertical lines of varying width that encodes data for scanning?

• A. bar code
• B. QR code
• C. UPC symbol
• D. data matrix

Answer: (A)

This is about how data can be encoded using patterns of vertical bars of different widths that scanners read. That pattern describes a barcode—the general term for these one-dimensional codes made of bars and spaces. The analogy is that the widths of the bars and the spaces between them map to digits or other data, and a barcode reader interprets that pattern to recover the encoded information. The other options refer to different kinds of codes: QR code and Data Matrix are 2D codes that use square modules rather than vertical bars; UPC symbol is a specific type of barcode used in retail, but the question is asking for the general term for the pattern of vertical lines, which is barcode.

This is about how data can be encoded using patterns of vertical bars of different widths that scanners read. That pattern describes a barcode—the general term for these one-dimensional codes made of bars and spaces. The analogy is that the widths of the bars and the spaces between them map to digits or other data, and a barcode reader interprets that pattern to recover the encoded information.

The other options refer to different kinds of codes: QR code and Data Matrix are 2D codes that use square modules rather than vertical bars; UPC symbol is a specific type of barcode used in retail, but the question is asking for the general term for the pattern of vertical lines, which is barcode.