GS1 Barcode Syntax Engine

The GS1 Barcode Syntax Engine ("Syntax Engine") supports processing of GS1 syntax data, including Application Identifier element strings and GS1 Digital Link URIs.

The project is a component of the GS1 Barcode Syntax Resource that serves as a reference implementation of a framework for processing the GS1 Barcode Syntax Dictionary and its subordinate GS1 Barcode Syntax Tests.

What's included

The GS1 Barcode Syntax Engine consists of a native C library together with bindings for C# .NET, Java, Swift, and JavaScript + WebAssembly, providing idiomatic interfaces to the native library from a variety of high-level programming languages.

Language/binding	Technology	Platforms	Documentation links
C	Native code	Cross-platform, embedded	Overview, Quick Start, Examples, API reference
C# .NET	P/Invoke wrapper	Windows, Linux, macOS	Overview, Quick Start, Examples, API reference
Java (and Android)	JNI wrapper	Cross-platform, Android	Overview, Quick Start, Examples, API reference
Swift (and iOS)	C interoperability	macOS, iOS	Overview, Quick Start, Examples, API reference
JavaScript	WebAssembly	Browser, Node.js	Overview, Quick Start, Examples, API reference

It is intended to be integrated into a wide variety of deployment scenarios.

Example Applications

There is a large corpus of example code.

C:

• Console application (source)

C# .NET:

• Windows WPF desktop application (source)

Java:

• Console application (source)
• Android mobile app (Kotlin) with ML Kit barcode scanning (source)

Swift:

• Console application (source)
• iOS mobile app with ML Kit barcode scanning (source)

JavaScript/WASM:

• Browser-based web application (source)
• Node.js console application (source)
• Node.js HTTP web service with example client (source)

Pre-built Demos

Pre-built demonstration applications are available for quick evaluation without needing to build from source. All demos can be downloaded from the latest release.

Application	Filename	Instructions
Windows console	gs1encoders-windows-console-app.zip	Console Guide
Linux console	gs1encoders-linux-app.zip	Console Guide
Windows desktop	gs1encoders-windows-gui-app.zip	Desktop Guide
Browser app	gs1encoders-wasm-app.zip	Serve example.{html+mjs}, gs1encoder.mjs, gs1encoder-wasm.{mjs+wasm}; .wasm must have MIME type: application/wasm
Node.js console	gs1encoders-wasm-app.zip	Run node example.node.mjs
-	gs1encoders-jsonly-app.zip	Pure JavaScript (asm.js) alternative to WASM build; No .wasm file

Pre-built Library Assets

The library is also provided in the form of a pre-built library for Windows (portable DLL), along with associated development headers (.h) and linker (.lib) files available from the releases page.

Filename: gs1encoders-windows-libs.zip.

The license is permissive allowing for the source code to be vendored into an application codebase (Open Source or proprietary) or for the pre-built shared library to be redistributed with an application.

Source Code

Source code is organised in the following directories:

Directory	Purpose
src/c-lib	Source for the native C library, unit tests, fuzzers and demo console application
src/dotnet-lib	C# .NET wrapper source
src/dotnet-app	Demo C# .NET desktop application (WPF) source
src/java	Java wrapper source and demo console application
src/swift	Swift package source with demo console application
src/js-wasm	JavaScript wrapper source with demo web and Node.js applications
src/android	Android Studio project source demonstrating mobile integration
src/ios	Xcode project source demonstrating iOS integration