universal product code

Universal Product Code: see bar code.

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Universal Product Code (UPC)

Standard bar code used to identify grocery and other retail merchandise. In the UPC system, the five digits on the left are assigned to a particular manufacturer or maker and the five digits on the right are used by that manufacturer to identify a specific type or make of product.

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Universal Product Code

See UPC.

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universal product code [¦yü·nə¦vər·səl ′präd·əkt ‚kōd]

(computer science)

A 10-digit bar code on the outside of a package for electronic scanning at supermarket checkout counters; each digit is represented by the ratio of the widths of adjacent stripes and white areas.

The corresponding combinations of binary digits into which the scanned bars are converted for computer processing that provides continuously updated inventory data and printout of the register tape at the checkout counter.