Barcode Nomenclature

A nomenclature is the rule book for how to read a scanned code. It does not find the record and it does not decide what happens. It only says: these characters are the lot, these are the weight, and this code is about a lot.

Where

Barcode Nomenclature (OSBN)

Who uses it

The implementation consultant

When

At setup, and whenever the company starts using a new code shape

Needs first

Nothing. Two nomenclatures are delivered

What it is for

A scanner hands the system a string. The nomenclature turns that string into named parts and names the kind of thing it stands for. Everything after that, finding the record and acting on it, uses those parts.

There are two kinds of rule book, and the Kind field on the header chooses between them.

• gs1 - the code follows the GS1 standard. It is a chain of Application Identifiers, each a short number that announces what the next characters are: 01 product, 10 lot, 17 expiry. The rules list which identifiers this rule book knows and how long each value is.
• pattern - the code has a shape of your own. Each rule is a pattern the whole code is tested against. Rules are tried in Sequence order and the first one that matches wins. The named groups in the pattern become the named parts of the code.

Which nomenclature applies

When a code is scanned: the Nomenclature on the screen's process line in Barcode Assignment, and if that is empty, the one called DEFAULT.

When a code is generated: the Nomenclature on the process line, and if that is empty, the Default Nomenclature on Legal Entity, and if that is empty too, DEFAULT.

Every field, in plain words

Header

Field	What it means	What to put in it	Notes
Nomenclature	The code of the rule book	A short code, such as DEFAULT or GS1	Required. Must be unique
Purpose	What this rule book is for	A sentence a colleague will understand
Legal Entity	The company it was made for	A company, or empty	Recorded on the rule book. A nomenclature is picked by its code, so two rule books cannot share a code even across companies
Kind	How the rules are applied	gs1 or pattern	Required. Anything other than gs1 is read as a pattern rule book
Group Separator (hex)	The invisible character that ends a variable-length value in a GS1 code	Two hex digits	Used by gs1 only. Empty means 1D, the GS1 standard separator
Active	The rule book is in use	Tick it	Unticked, the rule book is not loaded at all

Rules grid

Field	What it means	What to put in it	Notes
Sequence	The order the rule is tried in	1, 2, 3	Decides everything in a pattern rule book: first match wins
Rule Name	A name for the rule	Lot / Package, Product EAN-13	In a pattern rule book it is reported back as the rule that matched
Application Identifier	The GS1 identifier this rule reads	01, 10, 3103	gs1 only. Two, three or four digits
Rule Type Code	The logical type of what the rule reads	product, lot, weight, price, expiry, location	Carried on every part the rule produces
Symbology	The printed form this rule is meant for	ean13, upca, any	Descriptive. Reading does not depend on it
Value Kind	How the value is shown	numeric, alnum, date_yymmdd	date_yymmdd turns six digits into a readable date
Unit	The unit of a measured value	kg	Attached to weights and prices
Pattern	The shape the whole code must have	A regular expression with named groups	pattern only
Variable Length	The value has no fixed length	Tick for lots and serial numbers	gs1 only. The value runs to the group separator, to Max Length, or to the end of the code
Data Length	The exact length of a fixed value	14 for a GTIN, 6 for a date	gs1 only, when Variable Length is off
Max Length	The longest a variable value may be	20 for a GS1 lot	gs1 only, when Variable Length is on
Decimal Places	How many of the digits are decimals	3 for kilograms to the gram	gs1 only
Combine Field	The name of a part built from two groups	weight	pattern only. See the weighted product example below
Combine Integer Group	The group holding the whole number	intpart	Used with Combine Field
Combine Decimal Group	The group holding the decimals	decpart	Used with Combine Field
Check Digit	The check the code must pass	none, gs1, mod10, ean8, upca, ean13, gtin14, sscc18	A code that fails is refused. In a pattern rule book the next rule is not tried
Check Digit Group	Which named group the check is run on	product	pattern only. Empty means the whole code
Entity Type	The kind of thing this code stands for	ITEM, LOT, LOCATION, PACKAGE, SERIAL	This is what Barcode Identity and the action lines of Barcode Assignment match on
Resolve Group	Which named group is the key to look the record up by	lot, product	Empty means the whole code is the key

How to configure it

1. Open the delivered DEFAULT nomenclature first and read its rules. Most needs are already covered.
2. If the company has a code shape nothing covers, add a rule line rather than a new nomenclature. Give it a Sequence that puts it before any broader rule that would also match.
3. Write the Pattern so that it describes the whole code, start to end, and name the group that carries the key.
4. Set Entity Type to the kind of thing it is, and Resolve Group to the group holding the key.
5. Tick Active on the header, save, and refresh the application configuration so the server loads the change.

Scenarios

The batch label: how DEFAULT reads a lot

The delivered DEFAULT nomenclature carries this rule at sequence 4, named Lot / Package:

^06(?<lot>[0-9A-Za-z._-]+)$

Read it left to right. The code must start with 06. Everything after that is captured under the name lot, and may be made of digits, letters, dots, underscores and hyphens. The rule's Entity Type is LOT and its Resolve Group is lot.

So a batch label is simply 06 followed by the batch number. Batch B2401 is printed as 06B2401. Scanned back, the engine answers: this is a LOT, and its key is B2401.

The rules above it are tried first: a code starting 21 or 22 in the weighted and priced product shapes, and a location code starting 05. The broad rule at sequence 7, Internal reference, would also match 06B2401 as an item. It never gets the chance, because the lot rule sits above it. That is why sequence matters.

A batch number with other characters

The lot rule allows digits, letters, dot, underscore and hyphen. A batch number containing a slash or a space does not fit it, and no other DEFAULT rule fits either. Picking List Registration still accepts such a label because it reads the batch number itself, but a screen relying on the rule would not. If the company's batch numbers use such characters, widen the character set in the rule.

A weighted product from the scale

Rule 1 of DEFAULT reads a 13-digit scale label: 21, then five digits of product, three of whole kilograms, two of decimals. Combine Field weight, Combine Integer Group intpart and Combine Decimal Group decpart fold the two groups into one value. A label carrying 012 and 50 gives weight 12.50 kg. The product digits are the key, because Resolve Group is product.

A supplier sends GS1 labels

Name the delivered GS1 nomenclature on the process line of the receiving screen. It knows SSCC 00, GTIN 01, lot 10, production date 11, best-before 15, expiry 17, serial 21, count 30, net weight in kilograms 3103 and amount payable 3922. A code with an identifier it does not know is refused with "Unknown Application Identifier at position N". Add a rule line for that identifier.

What it is connected to

• Barcode Assignment names the nomenclature each screen reads with.
• Legal Entity names the company's default for generated codes.
• Barcode Identity takes the Entity Type and the key a rule produced and finds the record.

If something looks wrong

• "no nomenclature rule matched" - the code fits no Pattern in the rule book. Add a rule or widen one.
• "Unknown Application Identifier at position N" - a gs1 rule book has no rule for the identifier at that place in the code.
• "The code is read as an item when it is a lot" - a broader rule sits above the specific one. Lower the Sequence of the specific rule.
• "The code is refused although a later rule would fit" - the first rule that matched has a Check Digit and the code failed it. A failed check stops the scan. It does not move on to the next rule.
• "I changed a rule and nothing changed" - the server still holds the old rule book. Refresh the application configuration.
• "The rule book is ignored" - Active is off on the header, or the process line names a different nomenclature.