TIL “Rectangular Micro QR” codes exist (since 2022). IMO this will drastically improve our docs that use QR codes. We will be able to use an rMQR as a kind of underline for an URL.
The standard is published here:
https://cdn.standards.iteh.ai/samples/77404/e103bf2d1f0d4162b34ca493efdaf9c4/ISO-IEC-23941-2022.pdf
The cons:
- no LaTeX pkg for rMQR
- no Debian pkg for rMQR (
qrencode can do micro QR but not rMQR; OTOH, there is at least something - but non-Debian and only for obscure pkg managers)
- alphanumeric charset ALL UPPERCASE - bummer!
Sadly, they fucked up again on this new standard by making all characters uppercase in the alphanumeric dataset. WTF? I have to say that’s even more mildlyinfuriating because the square QR codes have the same shitty limitation. Why didn’t they think this through? It would have been a good way to have small QRs that could be either all lowercase or all uppercase.
I find the clumbsy oversight worthy of a “crappy design” spotlight.
update
Worth noting that a split mode is possible and some encoders can handle that. You can have an all uppercase http://somedomain.tld/ using the alnum charset, then switch to 8-bit mode for a lowercase path that follows it. Still shitty design though.