Since computer programs process real-world information, the first step of computational problem solving is to encode real-world information as data that can be processed by a computer. Real-world information comes from many sources and in a variety of forms. Converting information into data that a computer can store and understand presents many challenges. For example, how can an audio recording, or a seventeenth-century Dutch oil painting or a full-color page from a textbook or even a fingerprint be stored inside of a computer?
This chapter will describe the underlying encoding system used by most computing systems and will show how complex types of information such as images and sound can be encoded by using this encoding system. This chapter will also discuss the techniques for minimizing the encoding of information such that the data is more compact and efficient.