Audio coding format

An audio coding format defines how digital audio is represented and encoded, including rules for compression, data organization, and decoding.

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Pulse-code modulation: A method that represents sampled audio as a sequence of quantized amplitude values. It is the direct, typically uncompressed representation that many audio codecs transform.
Lossy compression: Compression that irreversibly removes information to reduce data size. Formats such as MP3 use this tradeoff to achieve much lower bitrates.
MP3: A widely used lossy audio coding format standardized as MPEG-1 Audio Layer III. It became a familiar example of compact perceptual coding for music.
Digital audio: Sound represented as numerical data rather than as a continuously varying physical signal. Audio coding formats operate on digital representations of sound.
Interoperability: The ability of different systems to exchange data and use it successfully. Shared format support determines whether audio files work across devices and software.
Transform coding: A compression method that converts signal data into coefficients suited to efficient encoding. Many perceptual audio formats transform audio into frequency-domain coefficients before quantization.
Lossless compression: Compression that permits exact recovery of the original digital data. Lossless formats reduce storage without changing decoded sample values.
Advanced Audio Coding: A lossy audio coding format developed as a successor to MP3 in MPEG standards. It is widely used for music distribution and streaming at constrained bitrates.
Sampling (signal processing): The process of measuring a continuous signal at discrete intervals. A format ultimately encodes audio samples or parameters derived from them.
Digital preservation: The practices used to maintain access to digital information over time. Format documentation, licensing, and long-term decoder availability affect future access to audio.