flexible-length coding

noun
UK /ˈflɛksɪbəl lɛŋθ ˈkəʊdɪŋ/
US /ˈflɛksəbəl lɛŋθ ˈkoʊdɪŋ/

A way of storing data where each piece can be a different size.

The video app uses flexible-length coding so small pictures take less space.

SYNONYMS

variable-length codingvariable-length encodingvariable-size codingadaptive-length coding

RELATED WORDS

compressionencodingbitstreamdata formatdecoder

OTHER MEANINGS

2. A data compression method that assigns shorter codes to common values and longer codes to rare ones.

Huffman coding is a classic flexible-length coding scheme.

3. A communication protocol feature that lets messages vary in size instead of using fixed-size frames.

The network uses flexible-length coding to handle both tiny sensor readings and large files.

4. A programming technique where records or fields can grow or shrink depending on content.

Flexible-length coding in the database saved space for short names.