The process of applying a suitable
code to an original message in order to change its form into one which is more advantageous for transmission, storage, reading, etc. In cryptography, the task of enciphering is one of encoding a readable message into a form that unauthorized receivers cannot easily decipher. In human
communication, the process of translating mental imagery into linguistic expressions is characterized as encoding (
see translation ) just as is the process, embodied in a microphone, of converting acoustical signals into electrical impulses. (
Krippendorff )
Conversion of plaintext into encoded
data by using a code which need not be secret, in contrast to
encryption. This conversion is done in such a way that reconversion into the original form is possible by
decoding. In contrast to encrypted
data encoded
data may well be understandable by someone who knows well enough the code (e.g. ICD code, morse code, ASCII code etc.). (
Hornung )
