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Encoding

An encoding is a way of representing a number or expression in terms of another (usually simpler) one. However, multiple expressions can also be encoded as a single expression, as in, for example,

\begin{displaymath}
(a,b)\equiv {\textstyle{1\over 2}}[(a+b)^2+3a+b]
\end{displaymath}

which encodes $a$ and $b$ uniquely as a single number.

$a$ $b$ $(a,b)$
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 2
0 2 3
1 2 4
2 0 5

See also Code, Coding Theory




© 1996-9 Eric W. Weisstein
1999-05-25