Introduction
Identification, whether for government or personal purposes, is a crucial part of our modern day. Users are identified with GUIDs in databases, students with index numbers, and cars with registration plates. Car license plates help in identifying vehicles and play a significant role in law enforcement, vehicle registration, and road safety.
History and Purpose
Car registration plates, also known as license plates, have a rich history dating back to the early 20th century. They serve the primary purpose of identifying vehicles for legal and administrative reasons, ensuring that each vehicle can be traced back to its owner. The first license plates were issued in France in 1893. Some countries use letters to indicate the year of registration, and diplomatic plates often feature unique colors or symbols to denote their special status.
Plates in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a unique system for car registration plates. Unlike many other countries, Bosnian plates do not use regional codes to indicate the area where the vehicle is registered. This approach was adopted after the war in the 1990s to avoid regional distinctions.
Structure of Plates
- Regular Plates: Used for personal cars. They consist of letters and numbers in the format X00-X-000, with 4.9 million combinations.
- Taxi Plates: Exclusive to taxi vehicles with a predefined code and numbers in the format TA-000000, with 1 million combinations.
- Diplomatic Plates: Plates for officials' vehicles with codes and numbers in the format CC-X-000 or CCCC-X-000, with 276,000 combinations.
Color and Design
The plates are wide rectangular shapes with a white background and black letters. Bosnia borrowed the design from Germany. The distinctive font and design can be found in many European countries.
C++ Project
I have developed a C++ program that lists all variations of Bosnian car registration plates for personal, taxi, and diplomatic cars. This project aims to help users understand the different types and structures of these plates. It can serve as a database of some sort and provides general insight into a simple C++ program. You can explore the project in-depth and learn more details about the topic.