Read Complex Barcodes

Read Complex Barcodes

Reading a complex barcode is a two-stage operation. First, recognize the physical carrier symbology. Then pass the recognized text to the appropriate complex codetext decoder.

The complete source code for this article is available on GitHub:

View ReadComplexBarcodes.java

Recognize the carrier barcode

BarCodeReader reader = new BarCodeReader(
        outputPath,
        DecodeType.QR
);

BarCodeResult[] results = reader.readBarCodes();

For Swiss QR, the reader reports DecodeType.QR. At this stage, the result contains the standardized text but not yet the typed payment model.

Decode the recognized text

SwissQRCodetext decodedCodetext =
        ComplexCodetextReader.tryDecodeSwissQR(
                results[0].getCodeText()
        );

For HIBC LIC:

HIBCLICComplexCodetext decodedBase =
        ComplexCodetextReader.tryDecodeHIBCLIC(
                results[0].getCodeText()
        );

Check the returned subtype before accessing format-specific fields.

Access business fields

After decoding, application code can access typed properties:

String account =
        decodedCodetext.getBill().getAccount();

double amount =
        decodedCodetext.getBill().getAmount();

String creditorName =
        decodedCodetext.getBill()
                .getCreditor()
                .getName();

Handle unsupported text

The tryDecode... methods return null when text does not conform to the requested format:

String unsupported =
        "NOT-A-SUPPORTED-COMPLEX-BARCODE";

Assert.assertNull(
        ComplexCodetextReader.tryDecodeSwissQR(
                unsupported
        )
);

This allows an application to try another decoder or report unsupported content without interrupting the workflow.

Choose the correct decoder

Use the method that matches the expected standard:

• tryDecodeSwissQR;
• tryDecodeHIBCLIC;
• tryDecodeHIBCPAS;
• tryDecodeMailmark;
• tryDecodeMailmark2D;
• tryDecodeMaxiCode;
• tryDecodeUSADriveId.

The carrier type alone may not uniquely identify the business format.

Recommendations

• Check the number of recognition results before accessing them.
• Confirm the carrier DecodeType.
• Pass recognized text to the matching complex decoder.
• Handle null results from tryDecode... methods.
• Validate important business fields after decoding.
• Keep recognition failures separate from parsing failures.