Real Time Barcode Scanner With Python & Tkinter

Libraries Used:

1. tkinter (tk):
   • Used for creating the graphical user interface (GUI).
2. ttk:
   • A themed Tkinter module used for styling buttons in the GUI.
3. PIL (Pillow):
   • Used for handling images, converting frames from OpenCV to Tkinter-compatible format.
4. cv2 (OpenCV):
   • Used for video capture, image processing, and barcode detection.
5. pyzbar:
   • A Python library for reading barcodes using the OpenCV library.
6. threading:
   • Utilized for running barcode scanning in a separate thread to avoid blocking the main thread and allow for a responsive GUI.
7. time:
   • Used for introducing a delay to avoid multiple entries for a single barcode scan.
8. pygame:
   • Utilized for playing a sound when a barcode is detected.
9. os:
   • Used to obtain the absolute path for the sound file.
10. datetime:
    • Used for timestamping the saved barcode data.

Application Features:

1. GUI Initialization:
   • The application initializes a Tkinter window with a specified size and title.
2. Styling Configuration:
   • The ttk module is used to configure styles for buttons and labels, enhancing the appearance of the UI.
3. Video Feed Display:
   • The application creates a Tkinter Label to display the video stream captured from the webcam.
4. Barcode Scanning Thread:
   • The barcode scanning is performed in a separate thread (barcode_scanner method) to ensure a responsive GUI.
5. Stop Scanning Button:
   • A “Stop Scanning” button is created using ttk.Button. Clicking this button stops the barcode scanning and closes the application window.
6. Barcode Scanning Process:
   • The application captures the webcam feed and detects barcodes using OpenCV and PyZbar.
   • Detected barcodes are displayed on the video feed and added to a set (scanned_barcodes) to avoid duplicate entries.
   • When a new barcode is detected, a sound is played using pygame.
7. Display Update:
   • The video feed is continuously displayed in the Tkinter window using PIL to convert OpenCV frames to Tkinter-compatible format.
8. Data Saving:
   • Scanned barcode data, along with timestamps, is saved to a text file (scanned_data.txt).
9. Application Exit:
   • The application window is closed gracefully upon stopping barcode scanning.

Usage:

• Run the script, and the Tkinter window will open with the webcam feed.
• The application scans for barcodes continuously.
• Click the “Stop Scanning” button to halt barcode scanning and close the application.
• Scanned barcode data is saved to a text file with timestamps.

Notes:

• Ensure that the required libraries are installed (tkinter, opencv-python, pillow, pyzbar, pygame).
• A sound file (beep.wav) is expected to be in the same directory as the script.
• The application will create or append to the file scanned_data.txt in the script’s directory.