QR (Quick Response) code is a type of two-dimensional barcode that contains information encoded in a pattern of black and white squares. It was first developed in 1994 by a company named Denso Wave. Qr codes can be scanned by a smartphone or a dedicated QR code scanner, which uses the device’s camera to read the code and extract the information stored within it. This can include text, URLs, contact information, and more, depending on what the QR code has been programmed to contain. A sample video is given below to get an idea about what we are going to do in this article.
Note: This Android article covered in both Java and Kotlin languages.
QR Scanner
A QR Scanner is a tool that can read and decode QR codes. QR code scanners are widely available as mobile apps that can be downloaded on smartphones and tablets and can be used to scan QR codes using the device’s built-in camera. Our QR code scanner app also includes additional features, such as the ability to generate QR codes and share information with others.
Step-by-Step Implementation
Step 1: Create a New Project in Android Studio
To create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio. Note that select Java as the programming language.
Step 2:
Create two floating buttons, one for scanning the code and the other for generating the QR code.
QR Generator Code:
XML
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8" ?> < item > < shape android:shape = "oval" > < gradient android:startColor = "#FDDC74" android:endColor = "#FBD665" > </ gradient > </ shape > </ item > < item android:gravity = "center" > < vector android:height = "24dp" android:tint = "#FFFFFF" android:viewportHeight = "24" android:viewportWidth = "24" < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M3,11h8V3H3V11zM5,5h4v4H5V5z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M3,21h8v-8H3V21zM5,15h4v4H5V15z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M13,3v8h8V3H13zM19,9h-4V5h4V9z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M19,19h2v2h-2z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M13,13h2v2h-2z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M15,15h2v2h-2z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M13,17h2v2h-2z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M15,19h2v2h-2z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M17,17h2v2h-2z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M17,13h2v2h-2z" /> < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M19,15h2v2h-2z" /> </ vector > </ item > </ layer-list > |
QR Scanner Code:
XML
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8" ?> < item > < shape android:shape = "oval" > < gradint android:startColor = "#43DAA6" android:endColor = "#09855C" > </ gradint > </ shape > </ item > < item android:gravity = "center" > < vector android:height = "24dp" android:tint = "#FFFFFF" android:viewportHeight = "24" android:viewportWidth = "24" < path android:fillColor = "@android:color/white" android:pathData = "M7,3H4v3H2V1h5V3zM22,6V1h-5v2h3v3H22zM7,21H4v-3H2v5h5V21zM20,18v3h-3v2h5v-5H20zM19,18c0,1.1 -0.9,2 -2,2H7c-1.1,0 -2,-0.9 -2,-2V6c0,-1.1 0.9,-2 2,-2h10c1.1,0 2,0.9 2,2V18zM15,8H9v2h6V8zM15,11H9v2h6V11zM15,14H9v2h6V14z" /> </ vector > </ item > </ layer-list > |
Output UI:
Step 3:
Add a gradient to your background.
XML
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8" ?> < item > < shape android:shape = "rectangle" > < gradient android:startColor = "#615EE8" android:endColor = "#7F6CEF" /> </ shape > </ item > </ selector > |
Step 4:
In your activity main xml file add one CardView, one ImageView, two floating action buttons, and one EditText.
XML
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8" ?> < LinearLayout android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:layout_height = "match_parent" android:orientation = "vertical" android:background = "@drawable/back_qr" android:gravity = "center_horizontal" tools:context = ".MainActivity" > < TextView android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" android:text = "MY QR CODE" android:textSize = "24sp" android:textStyle = "bold" android:fontFamily = "@font/bold" android:textColor = "@color/white" android:layout_marginTop = "50dp" /> < androidx.cardview.widget.CardView android:layout_marginTop = "35dp" android:layout_width = "290dp" android:layout_height = "350dp" app:cardCornerRadius = "25dp" > < ImageView android:id = "@+id/img_qr" android:layout_width = "match_parent" android:layout_height = "match_parent" android:scaleType = "fitCenter" > </ ImageView > </ androidx.cardview.widget.CardView > < androidx.cardview.widget.CardView android:layout_width = "300dp" android:layout_height = "80dp" android:layout_marginTop = "20dp" app:cardCornerRadius = "50dp" android:backgroundTint = "#5754D3" > < RelativeLayout android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" > < com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.FloatingActionButton android:layout_width = "43dp" android:layout_height = "43dp" android:id = "@+id/btnQr" android:layout_marginLeft = "17dp" android:layout_marginTop = "20dp" style = "@style/floating_yellow" > </ com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.FloatingActionButton > < TextView android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" android:layout_marginTop = "15dp" android:text = "Generate Your Qr Code" android:layout_marginLeft = "80dp" android:textColor = "@color/white" android:textStyle = "bold" android:fontFamily = "@font/bold" android:textSize = "16sp" > </ TextView > < EditText android:id = "@+id/edtgen" android:layout_width = "wrap_content" android:layout_height = "wrap_content" android:hint = "Enter your Section Here" android:background = "@null" android:layout_marginTop = "45dp" android:layout_marginLeft = "80dp" android:textColor = "@color/white" android:textColorHint = "@color/white" android:textSize = "12sp" /> </ RelativeLayout > </ androidx.cardview.widget.CardView > < com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.FloatingActionButton android:id = "@+id/btnScan" android:layout_width = "50dp" android:layout_height = "50dp" style = "@style/floating_green" android:layout_marginTop = "60dp" android:outlineSpotShadowColor = "@color/black" android:outlineAmbientShadowColor = "@color/black" /> </ LinearLayout > |
Step 5:
In your main activity add this code, and create two onclick Listeners for generating and scanning the QR code.
Java
package com.shruti.qrcodescanner; import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; import androidx.cardview.widget.CardView; import android.annotation.SuppressLint; import android.content.Context; import android.content.Intent; import android.graphics.Bitmap; import android.media.Image; import android.os.Bundle; import android.view.View; import android.view.inputmethod.InputMethod; import android.view.inputmethod.InputMethodManager; import android.widget.Button; import android.widget.EditText; import android.widget.ImageView; import android.widget.RelativeLayout; import android.widget.TextView; import com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.FloatingActionButton; import com.google.zxing.BarcodeFormat; import com.google.zxing.MultiFormatWriter; import com.google.zxing.WriterException; import com.google.zxing.common.BitMatrix; import com.journeyapps.barcodescanner.BarcodeEncoder; public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity { FloatingActionButton btnQr; FloatingActionButton btnScan; EditText edtgen; ImageView img_qr; @SuppressLint ( "WrongViewCast" ) @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super .onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); btnScan =(FloatingActionButton) findViewById(R.id.btnScan); btnQr = (FloatingActionButton)findViewById(R.id.btnQr); edtgen = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.edtgen); img_qr = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.img_qr); btnScan.setOnClickListener( new View.OnClickListener() { @Override public void onClick(View v) { startActivity( new Intent(getApplicationContext(),qrScanner. class )); } }); btnQr.setOnClickListener( new View.OnClickListener() { @Override public void onClick(View v) { String Gqr = edtgen.getText().toString().trim(); MultiFormatWriter writer = new MultiFormatWriter(); try { BitMatrix matrix = writer.encode(Gqr, BarcodeFormat.QR_CODE, 260 , 320 ); BarcodeEncoder encoder = new BarcodeEncoder(); Bitmap bitmap = encoder.createBitmap(matrix); img_qr.setImageBitmap(bitmap); InputMethodManager manager = (InputMethodManager)getSystemService( Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE ); manager.hideSoftInputFromWindow(edtgen.getApplicationWindowToken(), 0 ); } catch (WriterException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } } }); } } |
Kotlin
package com.shruti.qrcodescanner import android.content.Context import android.content.Intent import android.graphics.Bitmap import android.os.Bundle import android.view.View import android.view.inputmethod.InputMethodManager import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity import com.google.android.material.floatingactionbutton.FloatingActionButton import com.google.zxing.BarcodeFormat import com.google.zxing.MultiFormatWriter import com.google.zxing.WriterException import com.google.zxing.common.BitMatrix import com.journeyapps.barcodescanner.BarcodeEncoder import kotlinx.android.synthetic.main.activity_main.* class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() { override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super .onCreate(savedInstanceState) setContentView(R.layout.activity_main) val btnScan = findViewById<FloatingActionButton>(R.id.btnScan) val btnQr = findViewById<FloatingActionButton>(R.id.btnQr) val edtgen = findViewById<EditText>(R.id.edtgen) val img_qr = findViewById<ImageView>(R.id.img_qr) btnScan.setOnClickListener { startActivity(Intent(applicationContext, qrScanner:: class .java)) } btnQr.setOnClickListener { val Gqr = edtgen.text.toString().trim() val writer = MultiFormatWriter() try { val matrix: BitMatrix = writer.encode( Gqr, BarcodeFormat.QR_CODE, 260 , 320 ) val encoder = BarcodeEncoder() val bitmap: Bitmap = encoder.createBitmap(matrix) img_qr.setImageBitmap(bitmap) val manager = getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE) as InputMethodManager manager.hideSoftInputFromWindow(edtgen.applicationWindowToken, 0 ) } catch (e: WriterException) { e.printStackTrace() } } } } |
Step 6:
Create a new Empty activity in your project. Add this code to your Java folder.
Java
package com.shruti.qrcodescanner; import android.os.Bundle; import android.Manifest; import androidx.annotation.NonNull; import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; import com.google.android.gms.tasks.OnCompleteListener; import com.google.android.gms.tasks.Task; import com.google.firebase.database.DatabaseReference; import com.google.firebase.database.FirebaseDatabase; import com.google.zxing.Result; import com.karumi.dexter.Dexter; import com.karumi.dexter.PermissionToken; import com.karumi.dexter.listener.PermissionDeniedResponse; import com.karumi.dexter.listener.PermissionGrantedResponse; import com.karumi.dexter.listener.PermissionRequest; import com.karumi.dexter.listener.single.PermissionListener; import me.dm7.barcodescanner.zxing.ZXingScannerView; public class qrScanner extends AppCompatActivity implements ZXingScannerView.ResultHandler { ZXingScannerView scannerView; DatabaseReference dref ; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super .onCreate(savedInstanceState); scannerView= new ZXingScannerView( this ); setContentView(scannerView); dref = FirebaseDatabase.getInstance().getReference( "information" ); Dexter.withContext(getApplicationContext()) .withPermission(Manifest.permission.CAMERA) .withListener( new PermissionListener() { @Override public void onPermissionGranted(PermissionGrantedResponse permissionGrantedResponse) { scannerView.startCamera(); } @Override public void onPermissionDenied(PermissionDeniedResponse permissionDeniedResponse) { } @Override public void onPermissionRationaleShouldBeShown(PermissionRequest permissionRequest, PermissionToken permissionToken) { permissionToken.continuePermissionRequest(); } }).check(); } @Override public void handleResult(Result rawResult) { String data = rawResult.getText().toString(); dref.push().setValue(data) .addOnCompleteListener( new OnCompleteListener<Void>() { @Override public void onComplete( @NonNull Task<Void> task) { onBackPressed(); } }); } @Override protected void onPause() { super .onPause(); scannerView.stopCamera(); } @Override protected void onResume() { super .onResume(); scannerView.setResultHandler( this ); scannerView.startCamera(); } } |
Kotlin
package com.shruti.qrcodescanner import android.Manifest import android.os.Bundle import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity import com.google.android.gms.tasks.OnCompleteListener import com.google.android.gms.tasks.Task import com.google.firebase.database.DatabaseReference import com.google.firebase.database.FirebaseDatabase import com.google.zxing.Result import com.karumi.dexter.Dexter import com.karumi.dexter.PermissionToken import com.karumi.dexter.listener.PermissionDeniedResponse import com.karumi.dexter.listener.PermissionGrantedResponse import com.karumi.dexter.listener.PermissionRequest import com.karumi.dexter.listener.single.PermissionListener import me.dm7.barcodescanner.zxing.ZXingScannerView class qrScanner : AppCompatActivity(), ZXingScannerView.ResultHandler { private lateinit var scannerView: ZXingScannerView private lateinit var dref: DatabaseReference override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super .onCreate(savedInstanceState) scannerView = ZXingScannerView( this ) setContentView(scannerView) dref = FirebaseDatabase.getInstance().getReference( "information" ) Dexter.withContext(applicationContext) .withPermission(Manifest.permission.CAMERA) .withListener(object : PermissionListener { override fun onPermissionGranted(permissionGrantedResponse: PermissionGrantedResponse) { scannerView.startCamera() } override fun onPermissionDenied(permissionDeniedResponse: PermissionDeniedResponse) {} override fun onPermissionRationaleShouldBeShown( permissionRequest: PermissionRequest, permissionToken: PermissionToken ) { permissionToken.continuePermissionRequest() } }).check() } override fun handleResult(rawResult: Result) { val data = rawResult.text dref.push().setValue(data) .addOnCompleteListener { task: Task<Void?> -> onBackPressed() } } override fun onPause() { super .onPause() scannerView.stopCamera() } override fun onResume() { super .onResume() scannerView.setResultHandler( this ) scannerView.startCamera() } } |
Step 7:
Add these dependencies in your gradle file.
implementation 'me.dm7.barcodescanner:zxing:1.9.13'
implementation 'com.karumi:dexter:6.2.2'
implementation 'com.journeyapps:zxing-android-embedded:3.4.0'
Step 8:
Add these styles to your themes.xml.
XML
< style > < style name = "CardView." parent = "CardView" > < item name = "android:foreground" >@drawable/button_grad</ item > </ style > < style name = "floating_yellow" parent = "Widget.Design.FloatingActionButton" > < item name = "android:foreground" >@drawable/qr_button</ item > </ style > < style name = "floating_green" parent = "Widget.Design.FloatingActionButton" > < item name = "android:foreground" >@drawable/scan_button</ item > </ style > |
Note: Make sure your project connects your project with Firebase before running on any device or emulator.