Quick Response Code abbreviated as QR code is a two dimensional barcode which was first designed for the automotive industry in Japan.It is an optical label which is machine readable and it contains the information about the item to which it is attached.It consists of black modules or square dots on a white background, which can be read using a scanning device to extract the data.The QR codes are more useful than the standard barcode because they can store much more data including URL links,geo-coordinates and text.Another key feature of QR code is that,many modern cell phones can scan them instead of requiring a big hand-held scanner.
QR codes, which were initially designed for industrial uses, have now become popular in consumer advertising.QR codes can be used in a number of ways by adding them to any advertising,posters,invites,flyers containing :
- Product details
- Contact details
- Offer details
- Event details
- Competition details
- A coupon
- Twitter, Facebook, MySpace IDs
- A link to your YouTube video
QR code can be easily generated using a site like Kaywa.com or it can be generated using an open source code for people who have smart developer on hand.QR codes might also result in security issues because if the user is not able to track the path the QR code is taking to, an attacker can take the user to an malignant site.So we must be cautious while using these codes.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
http://searchengineland.com/what-is-a-qr-code-and-why-do-you-need-one-27588
