Encoding and Decoding in Python for Managing Data

Encoding and decoding help transform images, videos, graphics and text into the binary format that computers understand. Python has built-in functions and modules to perform encoding and decoding operations on string data.

Data is the core of any digital application, but how does it communicate with the computers that process it? Computers only understand the binary format, which is a system of zeros and ones, but data can come in various forms, such as images, videos, graphics, or text. How do we convert these data forms into binary format so that computers can understand and manipulate them? This is where encoding and decoding techniques come in handy. Let’s explore how to encode and decode data in Python, one of the most popular and powerful programming languages for data science.

Encoding and decoding are processes of converting string data from one format to another, depending on the context and the goal. For example, you may want to encode string data that contains special characters or symbols into a format that can be transmitted over the internet, such as URL encoding. Or, you may want to decode a string of data that is encrypted or compressed into a format that can be read and understood, such as Base64 decoding. Now this is all confusing, right? Let’s delve deeper to clearly understand when to use which method. But first let’s list different types of encoding and decoding methods, such as ASCII, Unicode, Base64, or URL encoding. Each method has its own rules and standards for how to represent string data in different formats.