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Getting Started with iOS

Requirements

Supported OS: iOS 9 or higher (iOS 11 and higher recommended).
Supported ABI: arm64 and x86_64.
Development Environment: Xcode 7.1 and above (Xcode 13.0+ recommended).

Add the SDK

The Dynamsoft Barcode Reader (DBR) iOS SDK comes with two modules:

DynamsoftBarcodeReader.framework or DynamsoftBarcodeReader.xcframework: Main module. Provides APIs to easily scan 1D and 2D barcodes from image files and camera video.

Note:

Starting from v8.8 of DBR, the SDK also offers xcframeworks for iOS development.
DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.framework or DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.xcframework (Optional): Dynamsoft Camera Enhancer (DCE) module for getting video frames from mobile cameras. Provides APIs for camera control, camera preview, and other advanced features.

Note:

DCE is optional. If you want to use iOS AVFoundation framework to control camera, preview video, and read barcodes in the callback function that outputs a video frame, please refer to DecodeWithAVCaptureSession example.

There are three ways to add the SDK into your project - Manually, via CocoaPods, or via Swift Package Manager.

Add the Frameworks Manually

Download the SDK package from the Dynamsoft Website. After unzipping, you can find the following two frameworks under the DynamsoftBarcodeReader\Frameworks directory:
- DynamsoftBarcodeReader.framework
- DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.framework (Optional)
  
  Note:
  
  If you want to use iOS AVFoundation framework or your own sdk to control camera, please ignore DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.framework in the following steps.
Drag and drop the above two frameworks into your Xcode project. Make sure to check Copy items if needed and Create groups to copy the framework into your project’s folder.
Click on the project settings then go to General –> Frameworks, Libraries, and Embedded Content. Set the Embed field to Embed & Sign for DynamsoftBarcodeReader and DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.

Add the Frameworks via CocoaPods

Add the frameworks in your Podfile, replace TargetName with your real target name.

target 'TargetName' do
   use_frameworks!

pod 'DynamsoftBarcodeReader','9.6.0'
   
# Remove the following line if you want to use iOS AVFoundation framework or your own sdk to control camera.   
pod 'DynamsoftCameraEnhancer','2.3.10'

end

Execute the pod command to install the frameworks and generate workspace([TargetName].xcworkspace):
```
pod install
```

Add the xcframeworks via Swift Package Manager

In your Xcode project, go to File –> AddPackages.
In the top-right section of the window, search “https://github.com/Dynamsoft/barcode-reader-spm” and “https://github.com/Dynamsoft/camera-enhancer-spm”
Select barcode-reader-spm and camera-enhancer-spm then click Add Package to add the frameworks.

Build Your First Application

In this section, let’s create a HelloWorld app for reading barcodes from camera video input.

Note:

XCode 13.0 is used here in this guide.

You can download the complete Objective-C source code from Objective-C HelloWorld Sample

You can download the complete Swift source code from Swift HelloWorld Sample

DCE is used for camera capture in this guide below. If you use the iOS AVFoundation framework for camera capture, check DecodeWithAVCaptureSession on how to add barcode scanning to your app.

Create a New Project

Open Xcode and select create a new project.
Select iOS > App for your application.
Input your product name (DBRHelloworld), interface (StoryBoard) and select the language (Objective-C/Swift).
Click on the Next button and select the location to save the project.
Click on the Create button to finish.

Include the Frameworks

Add the SDK to your new project. Please go through Add the SDK for more details.

Initialize the License

Dynamsoft barcode reader needs a valid license to work. It is recommended to put the license activation code under the AppDelegate file. Before going into the coding part of it all, you must first obtain a trial license if you don’t have one. In order to request a trial license, please request one via the customer portal.

Implement the protocol DBRLicenseVerificationListener through class AppDelegate:

Objective-C
Swift

 @interface AppDelegate ()<DBRLicenseVerificationListener>

 class AppDelegate: DBRLicenseVerificationListener

Add the following code to initialize the license in method application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: and receive the callback message :

Objective-C
Swift

@implementation AppDelegate
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions 
{
   // Initialize license for Dynamsoft Barcode Reader.
   // The string "DLS2eyJvcmdhbml6YXRpb25JRCI6IjIwMDAwMSJ9" is a time-limited public trial license. Note that network connection is required for this license to work.
   [DynamsoftBarcodeReader initLicense:@"DLS2eyJvcmdhbml6YXRpb25JRCI6IjIwMDAwMSJ9" verificationDelegate:self];
   return YES;
}
- (void)DBRLicenseVerificationCallback:(bool)isSuccess error:(NSError *)error
{
   // Add your code to handle license callback message.
}

func application(_ application: UIApplication, didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool
{
   /* Initialize license for Dynamsoft Barcode Reader.*/
   /* The string "DLS2eyJvcmdhbml6YXRpb25JRCI6IjIwMDAwMSJ9" is a time-limited public trial license. Note that network connection is required for this license to work. */
   DynamsoftBarcodeReader.initLicense("DLS2eyJvcmdhbml6YXRpb25JRCI6IjIwMDAwMSJ9", verificationDelegate: self)
   return true
}
func dbrLicenseVerificationCallback(_ isSuccess: Bool, error: Error?)
{
   // Add your code to handle license callback message.
}

Note:

Network connection is required for the license to work.

The license string here will grant you a time-limited trial license.

If the license has expired, you can go to the Customer Portal to request for an extension.

If you download the Installation Package, it comes with a 30-day trial license.

Configure the Camera to Get Video Streaming

Import the headers in the ViewController file.

Objective-C
Swift

 #import <DynamsoftBarcodeReader/DynamsoftBarcodeReader.h>
 #import <DynamsoftCameraEnhancer/DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.h>

 import DynamsoftBarcodeReader
 import DynamsoftCameraEnhancer

Create an instance of DynamsoftCameraEnhancer for getting video input.

Objective-C
Swift

/*Initialize DynamsoftCameraEnhancer and DCECameraView*/
@property(nonatomic, strong) DynamsoftCameraEnhancer *dce;
@property(nonatomic, strong) DCECameraView *dceView;
- (void)viewDidLoad {
   [super viewDidLoad];
   [self configurationDCE];
}

/*Initialize DynamsoftCameraEnhancer and DCECameraView*/
var dce:DynamsoftCameraEnhancer! = nil
var dceView:DCECameraView! = nil
override func viewDidLoad() {
   super.viewDidLoad()
   configurationDCE()
}

Add configurations for DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.

Objective-C
Swift

/*Configure the Camera Enhancer.*/
- (void)configurationDCE{
   _dceView = [DCECameraView cameraWithFrame:self.view.bounds];
   [self.view.addSubView:_dceView];
   /*Display overlays on the decoded barcodes*/
   [_dceView setOverlayVisible:true];
   _dce = [[DynamsoftCameraEnhancer alloc] initWithView:_dceView];
   [_dce open];
}

/*Configure the Camera Enhancer.*/
func configurationDCE() {
   dceView = DCECameraView.init(frame: self.view.bounds)
   self.view.addSubview(dceView)
   /*Display overlays on the decoded barcodes*/
   dceView.setOverlayVisible(true)
   dce = DynamsoftCameraEnhancer.init(view: dceView)
   dce.open()
}

Configure the Barcode Reader and Start Decoding

Still in the ViewController file, declare and create the instance of barcodeReader:

Objective-C
Swift

@property(nonatomic, strong) DynamsoftBarcodeReader *barcodeReader;
- (void)viewDidLoad {
   [super viewDidLoad];
   [self configurationDBR];
}
- (void)configurationDBR {
   /* Create the instance */
   _barcodeReader = [[DynamsoftBarcodeReader alloc] init];
   /* You can add your barcode reader configurations here. */
}

var barcodeReader:DynamsoftBarcodeReader! = nil
override func viewDidLoad() {
   super.viewDidLoad()
   configurationDBR()
}
func configurationDBR(){
   /* Create the instance */
   barcodeReader = DynamsoftBarcodeReader.init()
   /* You can add your barcode reader configurations here. */
}

After both of the barcode reader instance and the camera enhancer instance are created, let’s bind the camera enhancer instance to the barcode reader so that the barcode reader can get video streaming for barcode decoding. Add the following to the configurationDCE method:

Objective-C
Swift

- (void)configurationDCE{
   // Bind the Camera Enhancer instance to the Barcode Reader instance.
   // The _dce is the instance of the Dynamsoft Camera Enhancer.
   // The Barcode Reader will use this instance to take control of the camera and acquire frames from the camera to start the barcode decoding process.
   [_barcodeReader setCameraEnhancer:_dce];
   // Start Scanning controls the process of video barcode decoding
   [_barcodeReader startScanning];
}

/*Deploy the camera with Dynamsoft Camera Enhancer.*/
func configurationDCE() {
   /*Bind the Camera Enhancer instance to the Barcode Reader instance.
   The _dce is the instance of the Dynamsoft Camera Enhancer.
   The Barcode Reader will use this instance to take control of the camera and acquire frames from the camera to start the barcode decoding process.*/
   barcodeReader.setCameraEnhancer(dce)
   /* Start Scanning controls the process of video barcode decoding. */
   barcodeReader.startScanning()
}

Once you have start the video barcode decoding thread, we implement the protocol DBRTextResultLisener through class ViewController to receive the barcode results.

Objective-C
Swift

@interface ViewController ()<DBRTextResultListener>

class ViewController: DBRTextResultListener

Then handle received barcode results in textResultCallback function of the class ViewController:

Objective-C
Swift

- (void)textResultCallback:(NSInteger)frameId imageData:(iImageData *)imageData results:(NSArray<iTextResult *> *)results{
   if (results.count > 0) {
      NSString *title = @"Results";
      NSString *msgText = @"";
      NSString *msg = @"Please visit: https://www.dynamsoft.com/customer/license/trialLicense?";
      for (NSInteger i = 0; i< [results count]; i++) {
         if (results[i].exception != nil && [results[i].exception containsString:msg]) {
            msgText = [msg stringByAppendingString:@"product=dbr&utm_source=installer&package=ios to request for 30 days extension."];
            title = @"Exception";
            break;
         }
         if (results[i].barcodeFormat_2 != 0) {
            msgText = [msgText stringByAppendingString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"\nFormat: %@\nText: %@\n", results[i].barcodeFormatString_2, results[i].barcodeText]];
         }else{
            msgText = [msgText stringByAppendingString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"\nFormat: %@\nText: %@\n", results[i].barcodeFormatString, results[i].barcodeText]];
         }
      }
      [self showResult:title msg:msgText acTitle:@"OK" completion:^{}];
   }else{
      return;
   }
}

func textResultCallback(_ frameId: Int, ImageData: iImageData, results: [iTextResult]?) {
   if results!.count > 0 {
      var msgText:String = ""
      var title:String = "Results"
      for item in results! {
         if item.barcodeFormat_2.rawValue != 0 {
            msgText = msgText + String(format:"\nFormat: %@\nText: %@\n", item.barcodeFormatString_2!, item.barcodeText ?? "noResuslt")
         }else{
            msgText = msgText + String(format:"\nFormat: %@\nText: %@\n", item.barcodeFormatString!,item.barcodeText ?? "noResuslt")
         }
      }
      showResult(title, msgText, "OK") {
      }
   }else{
      return
   }
}

Bind the TextResultListener object to the barcode reader.

Objective-C
Swift

- (void)configurationDCE{
   [_barcodeReader setCameraEnhancer:_dce];
   // Make this setting to get the result. The result will be an object that contains text results and other barcode information.
   [_barcodeReader setDBRTextResultListener:self];
   [_barcodeReader startScanning];
}

func configurationDCE() {
   barcodeReader.setCameraEnhancer(dce)
   /* Make this setting to get the result. The result will be an object that contains text result and other barcode information. */
   barcodeReader.setDBRTextResultListener(self)
   barcodeReader.startScanning()
}

Lastly, add the showText method to display the barcode results on the UI

Objective-C
Swift

- (void)showResult:(NSString *)title msg:(NSString *)msg acTitle:(NSString *)acTitle completion:(void (^)(void))completion {
   dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
      UIAlertController *alert = [UIAlertController alertControllerWithTitle:title message:msg preferredStyle:UIAlertControllerStyleAlert];
      [alert addAction:[UIAlertAction actionWithTitle:acTitle style:UIAlertActionStyleDefault handler:^(UIAlertAction * action) {
         completion();
      }]];
      [self presentViewController:alert animated:YES completion:nil];
   });
}

private func showResult(_ title: String, _ msg: String, _ acTitle: String, completion: @escaping () -> Void) {
   DispatchQueue.main.async {
      let alert = UIAlertController(title: title, message: msg, preferredStyle: .alert)
      alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: acTitle, style: .default, handler: { _ in completion() }))
      self.present(alert, animated: true, completion: nil)
   }
}

Configure Camera Permissions

Add the following lines to the file info.plist to request camera permission:

<dict>
  ...
  <key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
  <string>HelloWorld Sample needs to access your camera.</string>
  ...
</dict>

Run the Project

Select the device that you want to run your app on.
Run the project, then your app will be installed on your device.

You can download the complete source code here:

Next Steps

From this page, you have learned how to create a simple video barcode decoding app. In the next steps, the following pages will help you on adding configurations to enhance your barcode reader.

Explore Features

If you want to explore the many features of the SDK and learn how to use them to best process the images you read in your application, read the articles in Explore Features.

Check Use Cases

If you want to check how the SDK works in popular use cases, read the articles in Use Cases.

Optimize Performance

If you have successfully integrated the SDK in your application but would like to get the best performance possible, read how to do this in Optimize Performance.

Using AVFoundation with DBR

If you use the iOS AVFoundation framework, DecodeWithAVCaptureSession will guide you on how to add barcode scanning to your app.