Offsetbased

Offsetbased is a term used in computing to describe data representations and access methods that rely on offsets, or positions, measured relative to a fixed base reference. In this approach, elements such as blocks, records, or fields are addressed by the distance from a known starting point rather than by absolute addresses or direct pointers.

In memory management and data structures, offset-based addressing supports relocation and serialization. By storing references as offsets from a base pointer, a data structure can be moved in memory or shared between processes with minimal adjustment. Offsets can simplify compact representations and enable streaming or partial loading, but they require careful handling of the base reference; if the base moves or becomes invalid, the offsets lose meaning.

In file formats and data interchange, offsets enable random access to blocks within a file or a data stream. Links to data segments, metadata tables, or embedded resources are expressed as offsets from the start of the file or a section, allowing efficient parsing and selective loading. Offset-based representations can improve portability and splittability across systems, though they may introduce complexity in validation and error recovery if offsets become corrupted.

In APIs and databases, offset-based pagination is a common pattern where clients request items with a starting offset and a limit. This approach is simple and stateless but can suffer from performance issues with large offsets and can become inconsistent in rapidly changing datasets. Alternative approaches, such as cursor-based pagination, address some of these drawbacks.

See also: offset, relative addressing, pagination, pointer.