libdmtx is open source software for reading and writing Data Matrix barcodes on Linux, Unix, OS X, Windows, and some mobile devices. At its core libdmtx is a shared library, allowing C/C++ programs to use its capabilities without restrictions or overhead. The included utility programs, dmtxread and dmtxwrite, serve as the official interface to libdmtx from the command line, and also provide a good reference for programmers who wish to write their own programs that interact with libdmtx. All of the software in the libdmtx package is distributed under the LGPL and can be used freely under these terms.

Encoded: "Example Data Matrix Symbol"

Data Matrix barcodes are two-dimensional symbols that hold a dense pattern of data with built-in error correction. The Data Matrix symbology (sometimes casually referred to as "DataMatrix") was invented and released into the public domain by RVSI Acuity CiMatrix. Wikipedia has a good page on Data Matrix and its characteristics.

The current stable version (0.7.0) introduced lots of goodies:

• New Java wrapper! (thanks Pete and Dikran!)
• New C#/.NET wrapper! (thanks Vali and Joe!)
• Visual Studio 9.0 files! (thanks Cameron!)
• Improved image handling approach
• Improved support for Text/C40 reading (thanks Robin!)
• Changed from GraphicsMagick to ImageMagick dependency
• dmtxwrite support for major image formats, including SVG
• Several bug and compiler warning fixes
• Several cross platform improvements
• Windows binaries now available

The unstable branch (SVN trunk) is also worth checking out:

• Fast quad fill for dmtxDecodeMatrixRegion() (thanks Mackenzie!)
• Decoding support for "05 Macro" and "06 Macro" (thanks Marlon!)

Note: If you have Data Matrix samples that use the macro syntax, please help the project by sending copies to Mike for testing purposes (email provided at the bottom of page). Thanks!

Recent News

• 19-May-2009: libdmtx project discussed in Linux Journal (March 2009)
• 12-Mar-2009: Python wrapper supports multi-barcode scans (thanks Simon!)
• 02-Mar-2009: New release: libdmtx-0.7.0 (Release Notes)
• 31-Jan-2009: Experimental libdmtx Windows binaries now available
• 23-Nov-2008: New release: libdmtx-0.6.0 (Release Notes)
• 08-Oct-2008: Olivier Guilyardi added support for all major image formats! (SVN)

Older News (show)

• 04-Sep-2008: New release: libdmtx-0.5.2 (README)
• 20-Aug-2008: Significant performance gains available in SVN (latest tarball)
• 01-Jul-2008: New release: libdmtx-0.5.1 (README)
• 29-Jun-2008: libdmtx.org now hosted on a super efficient fit-PC
• 03-Jun-2008: New iPhone reader by Stefan Hafeneger (no jailbreak required)
• 31-May-2008: New libdmtx mailing lists replace forums
• 30-May-2008: GeoWeb does it again: CameraDMTX for Nokia N60
• 27-May-2008: Et tu, Cognex?
• 22-May-2008: Congratulations Cognex! Good guys 2, patent trolls 0
• 16-Apr-2008: New documentation wiki. Everyone can contribute!
• 13-Apr-2008: 5th release: libdmtx-0.5.0 (README)
• 22-Feb-2008: New phone video, this time on Symbian S60
• 15-Jan-2008: Unofficial .debs now available (thanks pcitizen!)
• 21-Dec-2007: Check out Martin's iDMTX video!
• 07-Dec-2007: 4th release: libdmtx-0.4.0 (README)
• 02-Dec-2007: Good news: Project is ACTIVE - new release soon
• 16-Aug-2007: Added new screenshots to show progress during freeze
• 30-Nov-2006: Bad news: Downloads have been halted
• 15-Oct-2006: 3rd release: libdmtx-0.3.0 (README)
• 13-Sep-2006: Unstable version now available from CVS (instructions)
• 07-Sep-2006: Now taking feature requests for next release
• 11-Jun-2006: 2nd release: libdmtx-0.2.0 (view README file before using)
• 22-Apr-2006: 1st release: libdmtx-0.1.0 (view README file before using)
• 12-Mar-2006: Project home page changed hosting
• 24-Jan-2006: ISO/IEC 16022:2000 specification arrived in the mail
• 25-Nov-2005: Project home page libdmtx.sourceforge.net created
• 22-Nov-2005: SourceForge project created

Do you use libdmtx? You can get yourself counted by adding libdmtx to your stack at ohloh.net, or by clicking the "I USE IT" badge below.