dataoffset

noun

UK /ˈdeɪtə ˈɒfset/

US /ˈdeɪtə ˈɔːfset/

A data offset is the number that tells a computer where a piece of data starts.

The program reads the data offset to find the beginning of the file's contents.

SYNONYMS

data start position data pointer data location data index

RELATED WORDS

byte offset file header pointer address memory location

OTHER MEANINGS

2. In file formats, a value showing how far from the start of the file a section begins.

The header stores a data offset so the reader can jump straight to the image bytes.

3. In networking, the position within a packet where the payload starts.

The parser used the data offset field to skip the header and reach the message body.

4. A relative distance in memory used to locate a stored value.

The debugger displayed the data offset for each variable in the stack.