I don't know how many people remember this, but this reminds me of a technology in the mid-to-early 80s where computer magazines offered a gigantic QR-like code that could be scanned (if you bought the device) so that you wouldn't have to spend any time typing in the BASIC source code.
Software was published via standard one-dimensional bar codes, and instead of typing in the code from a book or magazine, you'd manually scan line after line of barcodes using a specially designed hand scanner.
There was this small Casio musical keyboard at home, bought in the 80s (made in Japan I think)
It came with a scanning pen, you could scan a song (from a book) made up of several barcodes (just like the links posted here) and it would play the song.