A set of
rules, a mapping or a
transformation establishing correspondences between the elements in its
domain and the elements in its range or between the
characters of two different
alphabets. information maintaining codes establish one-to-one correspondences. Information loosing codes establish many-to-one and/or one-to-many correspondences. When a code relates a set of signs to a set of meanings by
convention, a code can be seen to constitute
symbols. When it maps a set of
behaviors into a set of legal categories, a code can be seen to be one of law. When it accounts for the transformation of one kind or signal into another kind of signal it can be seen to describe an input-output device. When applied to linguistic expressions it is a
translation. According to Webster's, "to codify" is "to reduce to a code," to systematize, to classify. Indeed, any many-to-one code defines an equivalence
relation or classification of the elements in its domain. It is incorrect to call a set of signs (to which a code may apply) a code. (
Krippendorff )
