the activity of converting data or information into code
"The developer spent all morning debugging the encoding issue that prevented the server from reading the user's special characters correctly."
The way in which symbols are mapped onto bytes, e.g. in the rendering of a particular font, or in the mapping from keyboard input into visual text.
"The developer had to adjust the character encoding to ensure that special symbols displayed correctly on every user's screen without turning into question marks."
In plain English: Encoding is the process of changing information into a special code so it can be stored or sent safely.
"The encoding of the video file took much longer than expected."
Usage: In everyday technical contexts, encoding refers to the specific system used to map characters or symbols into binary data for storage and transmission. When discussing fonts or keyboards, it describes the rules that determine how visual text is converted into the underlying bytes a computer processes.
present participle of encode
"The software team spent hours debugging the encoding error that was preventing the file from saving correctly."
In plain English: To encode something means to turn information into a specific code or format so it can be stored or sent easily.
"The computer automatically encodes all the photos before you save them to the cloud."
Usage: Use "encoding" as a verb to describe the active process of converting information into a specific format or code. It refers to the ongoing action of translating data, such as turning text into binary or compressing a file, rather than just the result.
Derived from Old French encoder via Latin incodare, the term originally meant to put into code or cipher. It now refers generally to translating information into a specific format, such as computer code or a secret system.