HOW QR WORKS

AN INTERACTIVE ANATOMY

A QR code is a stack of structures.

Generate a symbol, then isolate the fixed patterns, payload framing, error-correction codewords, mask operation, terminator, and padding that ordinary scanners collapse into one decoded message.

ACTUAL MODULE MAP / SAME ENCODER AS THE EXHIBITS

STRUCTURE VIEWER

Select a layer

Highlighted cells are taken from the placement trace produced while this QR was built.

—
VERSION—
ECC—
MASK—
HIGHLIGHTED—

WHOLE SYMBOL

The complete matrix

Every dark and light module participates in the image a scanner samples. Select a layer to isolate its job.

ENCODING PIPELINE

Meaning becomes structure in stages.

  1. 01Segment

    Choose numeric, alphanumeric, byte, or another legal mode.

  2. 02Frame

    Add mode, count, terminator, and byte-boundary bits.

  3. 03Pad

    Fill unused data capacity with specified pad codewords.

  4. 04Protect

    Compute Reed-Solomon error-correction codewords by block.

  5. 05Place and mask

    Walk the matrix in a zigzag and apply one of eight mask formulas.