Talk:Data Matrix

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Has anyone else noticed the Datamatrices on USPS mail other than me? On mail mostly from cities, I've seen them to the left of the stamp. Note: none of them had actual stamps, just the postal meter thing or whatever it is so it might just be part of that.

Lee S. Svoboda 01:10, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Yes. If you use USPS online postage, it prints Datamatrices. ≈ jossi ≈ 02:30, September 7, 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Tools, specifications

Well, a bit unrelated, but did anyone ever tried to collect

  • free tools (source) to create datamatrices
  • free tools (source) to decode datamatrices (would be nice to have something to decode a clean, computer generated code at least)
  • downloadable [free] specifications?

I have found a free source to generate datamatrix code from text, file or stamp information, but wondering whether there's available a decoder anywhere? --grin ✎ 14:51, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

Here are some source codes to create datamatrices: http://www.aaisp.net.uk/aa/free/ --Antifumo 00:30, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

The libdmtx project: "libdmtx is a shared library for Linux that can be used to read (scan & decode) and write (encode & print) 2D Data Matrix barcode symbols. It is released under the LGPL and can be used and distributed freely under these terms.", see http://www.libdmtx.org/

During the period when I worked most heavily with Data Matrix codes, from 1999 to early 2005, I had not heard of any freeware decoders. They may exist, but to my knowledge the few independent programmers who bothered to create decoders (and encoders) were interested in charging for their work. I'd be surprised if anyone would offer as freeware a decoder capable of reading anything more than high contrast codes such as those created by an inkjet or laser printer on paper. If you do find a free decoder, please post about it here. Most likely you'd be interested in a decoder for ECC 200 codes.
"Data Matrix" (two words) is the proper name for the code. I'm not sure how to change the article name, but the single word spelling "Datamatrix" is not the standard.
"Data matrix" is a term in scientific statistical calculations. Dysmorodrepanis 00:53, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
For info on standards, check out http://www.rvsi.net/DM%20Organizations.html
-Rethunk 07:26, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Notes

I'm in a bit of a hurry, otherwise I'd make these changes myself. (A lame excuse, I know, but there it is.)

Symbols have an even number of rows and an even number of columns. This is true for the ECC 200 format, but not of the Data Matrix in general. ECC 140 codes, for instance, have an odd number of rows and columns.

ECC200 is the newest version of Datamatrix and supports advanced encoding error checking and correction algorithms (such as Reed-Solomon) ECC 200 uses Reed-Solomon alone.-Rethunk 07:38, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

This sentence is probably somewhat confusing for readers: Today it is covered by an ISO standard, ISO/IEC16022—International Symbology Specification, Datamatrix, and is in the public domain, which means it can be used free of any licensing or royalties. Correction: Acacia (www.acaciatechnologies.com) owns the patent for many 2D barcodes - including DataMatrix. Licenses are required for use. So, is this code public domain or not? The Acacia website is not really clear, they only claim they control patents about multi-dimensional barcodes (see http://www.acaciatechnologies.com/patentportfolio.htm#mul). --Antifumo 00:27, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

The Acacia website is unclear probably because their patents are considered bogus by many (if not most) people in the industry. It is worthy to note that their patents don't mention or specifically describe Data Matrix. Instead they discuss 2D barcode concepts at a high level, and the company claims that Data Matrix overlaps the concepts taught by their patents. They have been sued over these claims in Minnesota District Court (http://isys.com/news/press_releases/2006/Trolling.asp), and if they lose then their patents may be rendered worthless. Regardless, the patents in question are set to expire in November 2007 (with no possibility of renewal) so it will become a non-issue after that. As for the Data Matrix standard, it was placed in the public domain by its inventor (which was not Acacia or the company it acquired the patents from), and remains there. However, the "royalty free" status is now challenged by Acacia's claims. You will see that many big companies have agreed to purchase a license from Acacia to avoid a patent infringement lawsuit, but this appears to a function of companies just wanting to get on with their core business. Mblaughton 16:52, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was move —Mets501 (talk) 16:51, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Requested move

Data Matrix → Datamatrix — 'Proposed move. New name is correct spelling for article (see above "Tools, specifications"). Data matrix and Data Matrix should redir to Matrix (mathematics). Dysmorodrepanis 01:04, 29 October 2006 (UTC) Dysmorodrepanis 01:04, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Survey

Add  * '''Support'''  or  * '''Oppose'''  on a new line followed by a brief explanation, then sign your opinion using ~~~~.

[edit] Discussion

Add any additional comments:

Data Matrix is the official ISO 16022 name while Datamatrix is the common name. It would be best to keep the official version of the spelling.

Concur; modified move request: Data matrix should redir to Matrix (mathematics) where a disambig should be included. The non-Capitalized term is commonly used in scientific statistics [1] and at present the proper article is not reachable by linking the term.
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

[edit] More about the title

People have requested that discussion of the page title be reopened, so feel free to comment about what you think the title should be below. —Mets501 (talk) 03:03, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

What is the need to move the article? The term "Datamatrix" applies to a certain type of barcode, the subject of this article. So what is the issue? ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 03:42, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

If there are similar names, we can create a disambiguation page. ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 03:45, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm in favor of naming the article "Data Matrix" (two words) to be in agreement with the official name given and recognized by the ISO and AIM standards organizations. I see that "Datamatrix" (one word) is described above as "the common name" for this barcode symbology, but I have doubts about this claim. I think it would be more accurate to say that "Datamatrix" is one common name, but probably not the most common name and certainly not the official one. In my opinion there would need to be a very compelling reason to name it differently than the name given by its inventors. Granted, I'm relatively new to wikipedia, so I don't know all the conventions. Mblaughton 15:47, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] datamatrix or dataglyph

is there any difference between a datamatrix and a dataglyph (or 2d barcode) or are these things all the same?

Hsp01 08:10, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

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