System Overview

The QR code attendance system enables:

  1. User Registration: Create and save user details (e.g., name, ID, date of birth, etc.) in a database.
  2. QR Code Generation: Generate a unique QR code for each user using their details.
  3. Attendance Scanning: Use a camera (via OpenCV) to scan the QR code, mark attendance, and store it in a database.
  4. Database Management: Save and retrieve attendance data using SQLite.
  5. User Interface (UI): Use Tkinter to create an intuitive GUI for managing the system.
  6. Date and Time Management: Use datetime for timestamping attendance records.

Libraries and Their Functions

Here’s a breakdown of the libraries you are using:

  1. tkinter:
    • Primary library for creating the graphical user interface (GUI).
    • Widgets like Entry, Button, Treeview, and Label are used for user input and display.
    • tkcalendar allows date selection for recording attendance.
  2. sqlite3:
    • A lightweight database to store user data (e.g., names, contact details) and attendance logs.
    • SQL queries are used to insert, retrieve, and update records.
  3. qrcode:
    • Generates unique QR codes based on user information (e.g., ID, name).
    • Saves the QR codes as image files for later use.
  4. Pillow (PIL):
    • Handles image processing, such as saving and displaying QR code images.
  5. subprocess:
    • Allows running external scripts or programs (e.g., linking your attendance.py file to another script).
  6. datetime:
    • Records the exact date and time when attendance is marked.
  7. opencv-python (OpenCV):
    • Captures video input from a camera.
    • Recognizes and decodes QR codes in real time for attendance marking.

How It Works

  1. User Registration:
    • Create a form using Tkinter for entering user details (e.g., name, contact, DOB).
    • Save the data into the SQLite database.
    • Generate a QR code using the qrcode library, save it as an image, and display it.
  2. QR Code Generation:
    • Generate QR codes that encode essential details such as ID, Name, and Contact.
    • Example:pythonCopy codeimport qrcode data = "ID: 123, Name: John Doe, Contact: 555-1234" qr = qrcode.make(data) qr.save("JohnDoe_QR.png")
  3. Attendance Scanning:
    • OpenCV accesses the camera and continuously scans for QR codes.
    • Decode the QR code using OpenCV and process its data.
    • Mark the user as “present” in the database with the current date and time.
  4. Database Management:
    • Use SQLite to log attendance records (ID, Name, Date, Time).
  5. User Interface:
    • Tkinter-based GUI for functionalities like:
      • Adding new users.
      • Displaying attendance records in a table (Treeview widget).
      • Generating QR codes.
      • Scanning QR codes for attendance.

Workflow Example

  1. Step 1: A user registers their details using the Tkinter GUI.
  2. Step 2: The system generates a QR code for that user and saves it.
  3. Step 3: During attendance, OpenCV scans the QR code using a camera.
  4. Step 4: The scanned details are matched with the database, and attendance is marked with a timestamp.
  5. Step 5: Attendance records are displayed in the GUI using a table.

Conclusion

The QR code attendance system simplifies attendance marking, reduces manual errors, and provides a seamless user experience through:

  • Automation (QR scanning and database updates),
  • Efficiency (real-time attendance recording),
  • User-friendly GUI (via Tkinter),
  • Reliability (SQLite database integration).