QRCoderを使ったQRコード生成と.NET 6でのIronQRの比較

QR Code Generation in C#

Creating QR codes in C# applications is a common requirement for developers, especially for applications involving product identification, ticketing, or sharing URLs and other data easily. There are several libraries available for generating QR codes in C#. Two notable options are QRCoder and IronQR. Here, we'll explore both, comparing their capabilities, ease of use, performance, and other factors relevant for developers working with .NET 6. In this article, we'll delve into a detailed comparison of these libraries, examining their features, ease of use, license, and more, along with code samples to illustrate their usage.

How to Generate QR code using QRCoder compare to IronQR in .NET 6

1. Create a new Visual Studio project to Generate a QR code
2. Install QRCoder and IronQR NuGet packages to compare
3. Create QR codes using QRCoder and IronQR
4. Customization Options with QRCoder and IronQR

QRCoder

QRCoder is an open-source library written in C# and provides QR Code implementation that allows you to generate QR Codes as defined by ISO/IEC 18004 in any .NET application. It’s a lightweight and easy-to-use library with no dependencies on other libraries or network stacks.

Here are the key features and benefits of QRCoder:

IronQR

IronQR is a powerful C# QR Code library developed and maintained by Iron Software. It allows C# software engineers to detect, read, and create QR Codes in .NET applications and websites. Here are some key features of IronQR:

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Prepare a QR Code object
        QrCode theQrGen = QrWriter.Write("Awesome IronQR");
        // Save QR Code to memory
        AnyBitmap myQrImage = theQrGen.Save();
        // Save QR Code image to disk
        myQrImage.SaveAs("awesome.png");
    }
}

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Prepare a QR Code object
        QrCode theQrGen = QrWriter.Write("Awesome IronQR");
        // Save QR Code to memory
        AnyBitmap myQrImage = theQrGen.Save();
        // Save QR Code image to disk
        myQrImage.SaveAs("awesome.png");
    }
}

Imports IronQr
Imports IronSoftware.Drawing

Public Class Program
	Public Shared Sub Main()
		' Prepare a QR Code object
		Dim theQrGen As QrCode = QrWriter.Write("Awesome IronQR")
		' Save QR Code to memory
		Dim myQrImage As AnyBitmap = theQrGen.Save()
		' Save QR Code image to disk
		myQrImage.SaveAs("awesome.png")
	End Sub
End Class

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Read QR code
        var inputBmp = AnyBitmap.FromFile("awesome.png");
        // Load the image into QrImageInput
        QrImageInput imageInput = new QrImageInput(inputBmp);
        // Create the QR Reader object
        QrReader reader = new QrReader();
        // Read the Input and get all embedded QR Codes
        IEnumerable<QrResult> results = reader.Read(imageInput);
    }
}

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Read QR code
        var inputBmp = AnyBitmap.FromFile("awesome.png");
        // Load the image into QrImageInput
        QrImageInput imageInput = new QrImageInput(inputBmp);
        // Create the QR Reader object
        QrReader reader = new QrReader();
        // Read the Input and get all embedded QR Codes
        IEnumerable<QrResult> results = reader.Read(imageInput);
    }
}

Imports IronQr
Imports IronSoftware.Drawing
Imports System.Collections.Generic

Public Class Program
	Public Shared Sub Main()
		' Read QR code
		Dim inputBmp = AnyBitmap.FromFile("awesome.png")
		' Load the image into QrImageInput
		Dim imageInput As New QrImageInput(inputBmp)
		' Create the QR Reader object
		Dim reader As New QrReader()
		' Read the Input and get all embedded QR Codes
		Dim results As IEnumerable(Of QrResult) = reader.Read(imageInput)
	End Sub
End Class

Step 1: Create a new Visual Studio project to Generate a QR code

To get started with the code, let us create a Visual Studio Project. Open Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 and select "Create a new project" option.

Select the Console application template from the template list

Then provide the project name and the solution names. Select the path to store the project files

Select the required .NET version. I will go with the latest .NET 8 framework at the time of writing this article.

Once you click the create button the project is created and ready for development.

Step 2: Install QRCoder and IronQR NuGet packages

The QRCoder NuGet package can be installed using Visual Studio NuGet package manager as shown below.

Or install it from NuGet package manager console using the following command

dotnet add package QRCoder --version 1.4.3

The QRCoder NuGet package is available on the NuGet website here

The IronQR can also be installed similarly using the Visual Studio NuGet package manager, shown below.

Also from the NuGet package manager console, use the following command

dotnet add package IronQR --version 2024.4.1

Step 3: Create QR codes using QRCoder and IronQR

Creating QR codes in the two libraries requires simple code, let's check them out

QRCoder

The following code shows how to generate our first QR code using QRCoder

using QRCoder;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;

namespace QRCoderVsIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Initialize QRCodeGenerator
            using (QRCodeGenerator qrGenerator = new QRCodeGenerator())
            // Create QR code data
            using (QRCodeData qrCodeData = qrGenerator.CreateQrCode("QRCoder Demo 1", QRCodeGenerator.ECCLevel.Q))
            // Initialize the QR code with the data
            using (BitmapByteQRCode qrCode = new BitmapByteQRCode(qrCodeData))
            {
                // Generate the QR code's graphic and store it in a byte array
                byte[] qrCodeImage = qrCode.GetGraphic(20);

                // Convert the byte array to an image format and save it to disk
                using (var file = Image.FromStream(new MemoryStream(qrCodeImage)))
                {
                    file.Save("QrCoderDemo1.png");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

using QRCoder;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;

namespace QRCoderVsIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Initialize QRCodeGenerator
            using (QRCodeGenerator qrGenerator = new QRCodeGenerator())
            // Create QR code data
            using (QRCodeData qrCodeData = qrGenerator.CreateQrCode("QRCoder Demo 1", QRCodeGenerator.ECCLevel.Q))
            // Initialize the QR code with the data
            using (BitmapByteQRCode qrCode = new BitmapByteQRCode(qrCodeData))
            {
                // Generate the QR code's graphic and store it in a byte array
                byte[] qrCodeImage = qrCode.GetGraphic(20);

                // Convert the byte array to an image format and save it to disk
                using (var file = Image.FromStream(new MemoryStream(qrCodeImage)))
                {
                    file.Save("QrCoderDemo1.png");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Imports QRCoder
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.IO

Namespace QRCoderVsIronQR
	Public Class Program
		Public Shared Sub Main()
			' Initialize QRCodeGenerator
			Using qrGenerator As New QRCodeGenerator()
			' Create QR code data
			Using qrCodeData As QRCodeData = qrGenerator.CreateQrCode("QRCoder Demo 1", QRCodeGenerator.ECCLevel.Q)
			' Initialize the QR code with the data
			Using qrCode As New BitmapByteQRCode(qrCodeData)
				' Generate the QR code's graphic and store it in a byte array
				Dim qrCodeImage() As Byte = qrCode.GetGraphic(20)

				' Convert the byte array to an image format and save it to disk
				Using file = Image.FromStream(New MemoryStream(qrCodeImage))
					file.Save("QrCoderDemo1.png")
				End Using
			End Using
			End Using
			End Using
		End Sub
	End Class
End Namespace

IronQR

The following code shows how to generate QR code using IronQR:

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;

namespace QrCodeWithIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Prepare a QR Code object
            QrCode theQrGen = QrWriter.Write("Awesome IronQR");
            // Save QR Code to memory
            AnyBitmap myQrImage = theQrGen.Save();
            // Save QR Code image to disk
            myQrImage.SaveAs("awesome.png");
        }
    }
}

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;

namespace QrCodeWithIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Prepare a QR Code object
            QrCode theQrGen = QrWriter.Write("Awesome IronQR");
            // Save QR Code to memory
            AnyBitmap myQrImage = theQrGen.Save();
            // Save QR Code image to disk
            myQrImage.SaveAs("awesome.png");
        }
    }
}

Imports IronQr
Imports IronSoftware.Drawing

Namespace QrCodeWithIronQR
	Public Class Program
		Public Shared Sub Main()
			' Prepare a QR Code object
			Dim theQrGen As QrCode = QrWriter.Write("Awesome IronQR")
			' Save QR Code to memory
			Dim myQrImage As AnyBitmap = theQrGen.Save()
			' Save QR Code image to disk
			myQrImage.SaveAs("awesome.png")
		End Sub
	End Class
End Namespace

As you can already see the difference in the amount of code. IronQR code generation requires less code.

Step 4: Customization Options with QRCoder and IronQR

Both libraries support customization options. Let's look at some options available

We can set the QR code colors in QRCoder like below:

using QRCoder;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;

namespace QRCoderVsIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Initialize QRCodeGenerator
            using (QRCodeGenerator qrGenerator = new QRCodeGenerator())
            // Create QR code data
            using (QRCodeData qrCodeData = qrGenerator.CreateQrCode("QRCoder Demo 1", QRCodeGenerator.ECCLevel.Q))
            // Initialize the QR code with the data
            using (BitmapByteQRCode qrCode = new BitmapByteQRCode(qrCodeData))
            {                
                // Generate the QR code's graphic, specifying foreground and background colors
                byte[] qrCodeImage = qrCode.GetGraphic(20, Color.Red, Color.Green);

                // Convert the byte array to an image format and save it to disk
                using (var file = Image.FromStream(new MemoryStream(qrCodeImage)))
                {
                    file.Save("QrCoderDemo1.png");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

using QRCoder;
using System.Drawing;
using System.IO;

namespace QRCoderVsIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Initialize QRCodeGenerator
            using (QRCodeGenerator qrGenerator = new QRCodeGenerator())
            // Create QR code data
            using (QRCodeData qrCodeData = qrGenerator.CreateQrCode("QRCoder Demo 1", QRCodeGenerator.ECCLevel.Q))
            // Initialize the QR code with the data
            using (BitmapByteQRCode qrCode = new BitmapByteQRCode(qrCodeData))
            {                
                // Generate the QR code's graphic, specifying foreground and background colors
                byte[] qrCodeImage = qrCode.GetGraphic(20, Color.Red, Color.Green);

                // Convert the byte array to an image format and save it to disk
                using (var file = Image.FromStream(new MemoryStream(qrCodeImage)))
                {
                    file.Save("QrCoderDemo1.png");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Imports QRCoder
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.IO

Namespace QRCoderVsIronQR
	Public Class Program
		Public Shared Sub Main()
			' Initialize QRCodeGenerator
			Using qrGenerator As New QRCodeGenerator()
			' Create QR code data
			Using qrCodeData As QRCodeData = qrGenerator.CreateQrCode("QRCoder Demo 1", QRCodeGenerator.ECCLevel.Q)
			' Initialize the QR code with the data
			Using qrCode As New BitmapByteQRCode(qrCodeData)
				' Generate the QR code's graphic, specifying foreground and background colors
				Dim qrCodeImage() As Byte = qrCode.GetGraphic(20, Color.Red, Color.Green)

				' Convert the byte array to an image format and save it to disk
				Using file = Image.FromStream(New MemoryStream(qrCodeImage))
					file.Save("QrCoderDemo1.png")
				End Using
			End Using
			End Using
			End Using
		End Sub
	End Class
End Namespace

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;
using System.Drawing;

namespace QrCodeWithIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Set options
            QrOptions options = new QrOptions(QrErrorCorrectionLevel.Medium, 20);

            // Create QR
            QrCode myQr = QrWriter.Write("IronQR Generation Demo 1", options);

            // Style options
            AnyBitmap logoBmp = new AnyBitmap("logo.png");
            QrStyleOptions style = new QrStyleOptions
            {
                BackgroundColor = Color.Aqua,
                Dimensions = 300, // px
                Margins = 10, // px
                Color = Color.Red,
                Logo = new QrLogo
                {
                    Bitmap = logoBmp,
                    Width = 100,
                    Height = 100,
                    CornerRadius = 2
                }
            };

            // Save QR Code
            AnyBitmap qrImage = myQr.Save(style);
            // Save QR Code to local disk
            qrImage.SaveAs("advancedQr.png");
        }
    }
}

using IronQr;
using IronSoftware.Drawing;
using System.Drawing;

namespace QrCodeWithIronQR
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Set options
            QrOptions options = new QrOptions(QrErrorCorrectionLevel.Medium, 20);

            // Create QR
            QrCode myQr = QrWriter.Write("IronQR Generation Demo 1", options);

            // Style options
            AnyBitmap logoBmp = new AnyBitmap("logo.png");
            QrStyleOptions style = new QrStyleOptions
            {
                BackgroundColor = Color.Aqua,
                Dimensions = 300, // px
                Margins = 10, // px
                Color = Color.Red,
                Logo = new QrLogo
                {
                    Bitmap = logoBmp,
                    Width = 100,
                    Height = 100,
                    CornerRadius = 2
                }
            };

            // Save QR Code
            AnyBitmap qrImage = myQr.Save(style);
            // Save QR Code to local disk
            qrImage.SaveAs("advancedQr.png");
        }
    }
}

Imports IronQr
Imports IronSoftware.Drawing
Imports System.Drawing

Namespace QrCodeWithIronQR
	Public Class Program
		Public Shared Sub Main()
			' Set options
			Dim options As New QrOptions(QrErrorCorrectionLevel.Medium, 20)

			' Create QR
			Dim myQr As QrCode = QrWriter.Write("IronQR Generation Demo 1", options)

			' Style options
			Dim logoBmp As New AnyBitmap("logo.png")
			Dim style As New QrStyleOptions With {
				.BackgroundColor = Color.Aqua,
				.Dimensions = 300,
				.Margins = 10,
				.Color = Color.Red,
				.Logo = New QrLogo With {
					.Bitmap = logoBmp,
					.Width = 100,
					.Height = 100,
					.CornerRadius = 2
				}
			}

			' Save QR Code
			Dim qrImage As AnyBitmap = myQr.Save(style)
			' Save QR Code to local disk
			qrImage.SaveAs("advancedQr.png")
		End Sub
	End Class
End Namespace

Licensing

QRCoder is a MIT license-based package and is developed with the help of the community. This package is good for small-budget projects. The user needs to wait for the community to resolve issues or can fix and push the code to the Git Repository with pull requests approved.

IronQR requires a license. It has backing from Iron Software.

A IronQR trial license can be obtained. The obtained key needs to be placed in the appSettings.json file here:

{
   "IronQR.License.LicenseKey": "myKey"
}

Conclusion

Choosing between C# QRCoder and IronQR ultimately depends on the specific requirements of your project. If you need a free and open source QR code generation library with a lot of customization options, then C# QRCoder might be the preferred choice due to its simplicity and extensive customization options.

If you need an enterprise-level library that supports not only QR code generation with customization options but also supports QR code reading, then IronQR would be the ultimate choice. With the IronQR library, its many benefits, and support functionality from Iron Software, developers can write enterprise applications with ease and peace of mind.