[scribus] barcodes

[Gregory Pittman]

I think it's worth pointing out that there is more than one way to skin
a barcode.

The main thing that the barcode generator offers is convenience. It's
not the only way, and in some ways not the best method for generating codes.

Barcodes follow a set of rules that typically involve the following:

1. Thin line elements
2. Thick line elements
3. Thin space elements
4. Thick space elements
5. Starting and stopping codes, to show where a barcode begins, and
where it ends
6. Checksum elements
7. Some restrictions on which characters can be coded

Once you are able to get access to the rules of a particular code, it is
not difficult (I wouldn't call it trivial) to create such codes within
Scribus.

For example, the wiki contains some work I have done in regard to Code39:

http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Generating_a_Code39_Barcode
http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/A_Standard_Form_with_Barcodes_and_Custom_Entries

The latter page shows how to incorporate barcode generation as a
function (makebars) in a larger script.

Mathematicians and coders talk about elegance in some formula or code.
The elegance in these scripts, I think, is that they are native Scribus
generators of barcodes, using lines and spaces of precise width and
numerically spaced on the page. The length of the lines is also user
definable, as is the font used when you wish to show the code in
numerical format.

Greg