Simple Source Code for Generating '2 of 5 Interleaved' Image Barcode

Introduction

Nowadays, it's somehow hard to find a simple and proper solution if you need to generate a barcode image using the '2 of 5 interleaved' pattern. Most of the approaches around use commercial TrueType fonts, or third-party components.

This is a regular C# class that uses only basic approaches to receive an numeric value (the amount of digits must be even) and generate a System.Drawing.Image with the barcode.

Using the Code

Include this class into your solution:

public static class Int2of5
{
    private static string Encode(string Data)
    {
        try
        {
            //0 = thin
            //1 = thick
            IDictionary<int, string> NumbersMapping = new Dictionary<int, string>();
            NumbersMapping.Add(0, "00110");
            NumbersMapping.Add(1, "10001");
            NumbersMapping.Add(2, "01001");
            NumbersMapping.Add(3, "11000");
            NumbersMapping.Add(4, "00101");
            NumbersMapping.Add(5, "10100");
            NumbersMapping.Add(6, "01100");
            NumbersMapping.Add(7, "00011");
            NumbersMapping.Add(8, "10010");
            NumbersMapping.Add(9, "01010");

            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(Data)) throw new Exception("No data received");
            if (!Data.All(char.IsDigit)) throw new Exception("Only numbers are accepted");
            if (Data.Length % 2 != 0) throw new Exception("Number os digits have to be even");

            IList<KeyValuePair<int, string>> Digits = new List<KeyValuePair<int, string>>();
            for (int i = 0; i < Data.Length; i++)
            {
                int key = Convert.ToInt32(Data[i].ToString());
                string value = NumbersMapping[Convert.ToInt32(Data[i].ToString())];

                Digits.Add(new KeyValuePair<int, string>(Convert.ToInt32(Data[i].ToString()),
                           NumbersMapping[Convert.ToInt32(Data[i].ToString())]));
            }

            string Result = string.Empty;
            for (int i = 0; i < Digits.Count; i+=2)
            {
                string Pair1 = Digits[i].Value;
                string Pair2 = Digits[i+1].Value;

                //Pair 1 e 2 will get interleaved
                //Pair 1 = will be bars
                //Pair 2 = will be spaces
                //Pseudo-codes:
                //A = thin space
                //B = thick space
                //X = thin bar
                //Y = thick bar
                for (int j = 0; j < 5; j++)
                    Result += (Pair1[j].ToString() == "0" ? "X" : "Y") +
                              (Pair2[j].ToString() == "0" ? "A" : "B");
            }

            //Append start and ending
            return "XAXA" + Result + "YAX";
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            return "#" + ex.Message;
        }
    }

    public static Image GenerateBarCode(string Data, int Width, int Height, int ScaleFactor)
    {
        try
        {
            string EncodedData = Encode(Data);
            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(EncodedData))
                throw new Exception("Encoding process returned empty");
            if (EncodedData[0].ToString() == "#") throw new Exception(EncodedData);

            int Position = 20, ThinWidth = 1 * ScaleFactor, ThickWidth = 3 * ScaleFactor;
            Image img = new System.Drawing.Bitmap(Width, Height);
            using (Graphics gr = Graphics.FromImage(img))
            {
                //Initial white color filling
                gr.FillRectangle(Brushes.White, 0, 0, Width, Height);

                for (int i = 0; i < EncodedData.Length; i++)
                {
                    //Replace the pseudo-codes with bars or spaces
                    switch (EncodedData[i].ToString())
                    {
                        case "A":
                            gr.FillRectangle(System.Drawing.Brushes.White,
                                             Position, 0, ThinWidth, Height);
                            Position += ThinWidth;
                            break;
                        case "B":
                            gr.FillRectangle(System.Drawing.Brushes.White,
                                             Position, 0, ThickWidth, Height);
                            Position += ThickWidth;
                            break;
                        case "X":
                            gr.FillRectangle(System.Drawing.Brushes.Black,
                                             Position, 0, ThinWidth, Height);
                            Position += ThinWidth;
                            break;
                        case "Y":
                            gr.FillRectangle(System.Drawing.Brushes.Black,
                                             Position, 0, ThickWidth, Height);
                            Position += ThickWidth;
                            break;
                    }
                }
                return img;
            }
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            throw ex;
        }
    }
}

Call the method <GenerateBarCode>, passing the numeric data, the desired width and height of the image, and the scale-size factor, like this:

new PictureBox().Image = 
  Int2of5.GenerateBarCode("34191183400000292011090000107160253500375000", 1000, 100, 2);

Points of Interest

With this simple solution, you can embed a rich quality barcode into your application, with no need to buy expensive components, saving time and money.

History

• 2^nd June, 2016: Initial version