Scanning Devices
An accurate way of inputting data or information into the computer is with the use of a scanner. A scanner is a device which works similarly to a photocopying machine. It takes a hardcopy of a document and converts it into digital data. It is usually able to Optical Character Recognition (OCR) a text document. Scanners are also used at cashiers in shops to optically read the bar code of a purchased item.
QR Codes or Bar Codes
Quick Response (QR) codes have become increasingly popular as they are easily read by the camera of a smartphone. They differ from barcodes as they are two-dimensional sets of different sized squares on a white background. A barcode is a simple patter of thin and wide lines that are decoded by the scanner to represent data.
Magnetic Stripe Readers
Information is encoded on the magnetic stripe of the card or even an employee's identification card. The card reader converts the information encoded in the magnetic strip into a format that the computer can understand.