Encoding is the process of transforming information from one format into another. The opposite operation is called decoding.

There are a number of more specific meanings that apply in certain contexts:

• Encoding (in cognition) is a basic perceptual process of interpreting incoming stimuli; technically speaking, it is a complex, multi-stage process of converting relatively objective sensory input (e.g., light, sound) into subjectively meaningful experience.
• Character encoding is a code that pairs a set of natural language characters (such as an alphabet or syllabary) with a set of something else, such as numbers or electrical pulses.
• Text encoding uses a markup language to tag the structure and other features of a text to facilitate processing by computers. (See also Text Encoding Initiative.)
• Semantics encoding of formal language A in formal language B is a method of representing all terms (e.g. programs or descriptions) of language A using language B.
• Electronic encoding transforms a signal into a code optimized for transmission or storage, generally done with a codec.
• Neural encoding is the way in which information is represented in neurons.
• Memory encoding is the process of converting sensations into memories.
• Encryption transforms information for secrecy.

See also

• Coding

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