Optical Character Recognition
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that converts different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDF files, or images captured by a digital camera, into editable and searchable data. It works by analyzing the shapes and patterns of characters in an image and translating them into machine-encoded text. This enables automated data extraction from physical or digital documents, reducing manual entry and improving efficiency.
Developers should learn OCR when building applications that require digitizing printed or handwritten text, such as document management systems, automated form processing, or accessibility tools for visually impaired users. It's essential for tasks like invoice processing, license plate recognition, or extracting text from historical archives, where manual transcription is impractical. Using OCR can streamline workflows, enhance data accuracy, and enable text-based search and analysis in image-heavy contexts.