Decoding

Decoding is the process of interpreting coded information by translating symbols, signals, or sequences into a form that is intelligible to humans or machines. It is the reverse operation of encoding. Decoding requires knowledge of the coding scheme or an appropriate model to recover the intended content. It is distinct from decryption, which reverses cryptographic transformations to reveal plaintext.

In computing and digital communications, decoding encompasses reversing encoding to reconstruct original data. Examples include base64 decoding, UTF-8 decoding, and the decoding of compressed formats such as H.264 or MP3. In communication systems, decoders may also apply error detection and error correction to mitigate transmission noise.

In media, decoders are elements of codecs that decompress and render audio and video for playback. In literacy and cognitive science, decoding refers to translating written text into spoken language and meaning, including grapheme-phoneme conversion and word recognition used in reading.

In biology, decoding describes translating genetic information stored in DNA or mRNA into proteins during translation, effectively mapping codons to amino acids according to the genetic code. In neuroscience and machine learning, neural decoding refers to methods that infer mental states or stimuli from brain activity.