Universal Product Code or UPC or UPC-A is a barcode system used for the inventory and sale of products. UPC barcode is a combination of dark and bright elements, readable by barcode scanners. The standard UPC code is a 12-digit number and is called UPC-A. There is a shortened version of UPC barcodes, called UPC-E, which contains only 6 digits, and they are used for situations when a standard 12-digit code of UPC-A cannot be fitted because of the small size of an item.
UPC-A and EAN-13 are quite similar barcodes, with EAN-13 having one additional prefix code, making the code 13-digit long instead of 12 digits in UPC-A code. An EAN-13 code consists of one prefix digit followed by a 12-digit UPC-A code.
UPC barcode system was developed by IBM in 1970.
