ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

OCR-A

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen a computer read a piece of paper? It's called OCR (Optical Character Recognition), which means the computer looks at the letters and figures printed on the paper and turns them into words and numbers that it understands.

Now, OCR-A is a special type of font or writing that is specifically designed to make it easier for computers to read. It has a very distinct style where each letter and number has the same width and is separated by a clear space. This helps the computer see each individual character clearly, even if the letters and numbers are very close together.

For example, if you wrote the word "HELLO" in normal writing or font, the letters would all be different sizes and shapes, and some of them might even touch each other. This could be difficult for a computer to read because the letters might blend together or the computer might confuse one letter for another. However, if you wrote the word "HELLO" in OCR-A font, each letter would be the same size and height, and there would be clear spaces between each letter. This would make it easier for a computer to read the word correctly.

OCR-A font is mainly used in things like bank checks or mail sorting machines. It helps the computers that read those things to be more accurate and efficient, because they can read the OCR-A font faster and with fewer mistakes than other fonts or handwriting.

So to sum it up, OCR-A is a special font designed to make it easier for computers to read letters and numbers on paper. It has a distinctive style with equal spacing between each character, which makes it easier for computers to accurately recognize and understand what is written on the paper.