Good barcode scanner

[tbald]

What is the most reliable and quickest barcode scanner plugin available currently?

Currently our code uses the following: phonegap-plugin-barcodescanner 3.1.2 "BarcodeScanner"

The users are complaining about it being slow to scan barcodes.  Even I have noticed that sometimes I have to hold it over the barcode for an extended period of time, or hold it just right.  My boss tried using it in landscape mode and had a totally different problem.

So, basically, I want to know if there are any other barcode plugins that people like out there.  Thanks.

Tony

[tbald]

Since no one voiced an opinion, I thought I would comment on some things I figured out.  Take it for what it is worth.  Note that, as with any such tool, it depends on your audience.  What we found out with one beta test was that the "default" barcode scanner (  phonegap-plugin-barcodescanner ) was not being consistent, thus all this research to see if there was a better option.  Obviously, more low volume customers won't care as much.  Anyway, as of this post, there are all the generic barcode scanner plugins I found, with some comments where I could comment.  I ignored barcode scanners that were limited to one platform, or that only scanner QR codes, so I would not be the least bit surprised if there are more out there:

1. Pay options - not ideal for all situations, and both are roughly the same.  Just a matter of your environment and how much you want to spend, I guess.  Both have trial licenses, so they are pretty easy to test out.  The pricing sort of surprised me, but maybe it is normal for the industries that want good scanning.
   
1. com.manateeworks.barcodescanner - very nice behavior, very flexible.  Nice scanning, has "light"  icon to turn on the light, has a zoom icon to tell it to zoom.
2. com.mirasense.scanditsdk.plugin - very nice behavior, very flexible.  Also has a light icon to turn on the light, but no zoom icon.
2. Free options ( most of these were ultimately derived from the same source, https://github.com/wildabeast/BarcodeScanner, so I am sure there is some overlap.  Also, in all the cases I tried, at least for my iPhone, it messed up in landscape mode.  All these versions might have configuration settings to make landscape mode work, but it was not on by default.
   
1. phonegap-plugin-barcodescanner ( normal version ) - I call this one the "default barcode scanner", although I use the term loosely.  Seems to be flaky in certain cases, but probably perfect for apps that don't do a bunch of scanning
2. phonegap-plugin-barcodescanner ( quick version ) - basically the same as above, but with some enhancements to make some things a little quicker.  I think my boss actually likes this one better then the "default" version, at least on Android devices.
3. cordova-plugin-barcodescanner - I don't know how it differs from the "phonegap" version, but to me it feels a smidgen better and easier to use, but that might have just been my imagination
4. de.martinreinhardt.cordova.plugins.barcodeScanner - to me this felt a little better, and more consistent, but that might have been my imagination.
5. com.virtualama.bs - this one uses a different API then the ones above, and so it is not a drop-in replacement for the default barcode scanner, so I have not had a chance to test it yet.
   

I am not really favoring any particular plugin.  They all have pluses and minuses.  Also, keep in mind that some of the above might not be as frequently updates as others.  I hope this helps someone.

[Steve Husting]

This is worth bookmarking! Thank you!

[tbald]

Ok, I got a chance to try com.virtualama.bs.  While it is not a drop-in replacement for the "Default" barcode scanner, it does use virtually the same API.  So in my case, all I had to do was change a "scanner" variable to point to someplace different.  It actually feels a little better then the default barcode scanner to me, even allowing landscape or portrait scanning.

I know for a fact that the "pay" versions have various configuration settings.  I did not dig into the free versions to see if they do as well.  So you can treat the above comments as the "default" behavior for the given barcode scanner, with the minimal amount of configuration I could get away with.  Skandit required a registration id.  For some reason, Manatee did not, probably because I am in a trial period.  That said, I eventually put them in, just to see if it changes things.

[tbald]

BTW, it looks like com.virtualama.bs is not online anymore.  I guess the developers did not move it to the new plugin repository, and closed down the GITHUB project.

Also, since this post, some new plugins have appeared, it seems: https://cordova.apache.org/plugins/?q=barcode and http://plugreg.com/search?q=barcode.

So any new findings out there from anyone else?  Just curious.  Did not really expect the barcode plugin situation to change so rapidly, but it looks like it has.