A simple C++ library for validation and basic decoding of Vehicle Identification Numbers

• Easily validate VIN numbers using the "security" check digit
• Quickly get basic information about a vehicle"
  • Country of Origin
  • Name of Manufacturer
  • Serial Number

The easiest way to use this library is by simply including it as a Git submodule in your project.

git submodule add https://github.com/baughmann/C-Vin-Decoder ThirdParty/vindec
git submodule init
git isubmodule sync
git submodule update

Then, in your CMakeLists.txt file:

add_subdirectory(ThirdParty/vindec)
include_directories(ThirdParty/vindec/include)

Returns a VinDecodeResponse. The isValid property will tell you if teh VIN is valid and if the manufacturer, country, and serialNumber fields are populated.

#include <VinDecoder.h>

int main() {
    auto decoder = VinDecoder();
    auto vehicleInfo = decoder.decode("WMWMS335X9TY38985");

    if(vehicleInfo->isValid) { // true
        std::cout << vehicleInfo->country << std::endl; // Germany
        std::cout << vehicleInfo->manufacturer << std::endl; // MINI
        std::cout << vehicleInfo->serialNumber << std::endl; // T
    }
}

VinDecodeResponse looks like this:

struct VinDecodeResponse {
    std::string manufacturer;
    std::string country;
    std::string serialNumber;
    bool isValid;
};

Returns true if the VIN is valid and false if it isn't.

#include <VinDecoder.h>

int main() {
    auto decoder = VinDecoder();
    auto isValid = decoder.validate("WMWMS335X9TY38985");
    std::cout << isValid << std::endl; // true
}

This is my very first completed C++ project. As such, this was done primarily to assist in learning C++ as well as the CMake build system.

That said, please, Please, PLEASE give me some feedback! I know I have probably implemented a lot of stuff very poorly, and I would really like to learn to do it better.

Please be gentle, and thank you in advance! 👍