Chapter 02

Techniques for representing

information

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 course plan
1- Introduction
2- Concept of information
3- Concept of coding
4- Different types of coding
5- Codification steps
6- Data control
7-Conclusion

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 Introduction /1
During the study of an application, a great deal of
information is studied and defined with a view to its
processing by computer. The main advantage of the
computer is its ability to process large quantities of
information automatically, at high speed and in
excellent conditions of security. However, this
decisive advantage can only be achieved by
organising the information in advance. Indeed, if the
amount of information to be processed becomes
ever greater, the first problem that may arise is that
of unambiguously designating ( designation sans
ambiguité) an object within a set of objects.
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 Introduction /2
Example: if we look at information about
students at an institute, it is often possible to
find two or even more students with the
same surname and first name. It would then
be impossible to distinguish who we were
talking about if we only used the surname and
first name as a means of distinction.
The best way of solving this problem is to
allocated (attribué) codes to them. The
procedure for assigning codes is called:
‘codification – coding’
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 Notion of information /1
Definitions :
1- A fact (fait) or data likely to provide
meaning.

2- Any meaning that can be attached to and

deduced from a set of data , based on certain
associations between data .

3- A data that has already been processed and

is ready to be used in an organisation
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 Notion of information /2
Information in the IS :

In an IS, information is made up of three

elements:
- Entity; Object;
- Attribute or property;
- Data indicating the content, particular value
of the attribute.

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 Notion of information /3
Information classification :
According to type:
Numeric (N) , AlphaBetic (AB),
AlphaNumeric (AN) / Character ( C )

According to their nature :

Signalling (Sig) , Situation (Sit) , Movement (Mov)

Elementary (E), Calculated (CA), concateneted ( Co).

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 Notion of information /4
Depending on the processing function :

a- Elementary or input information

b- Parameter information
c- Resulting or output information
d- Control information or instructions

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 Notion of Codification /1
- Definition 1: codification is an optimisation operation,
replacing information in its natural form with a
conventional symbol (code) that is better suited to
the user's objectives and to automatic processing.

- Definition 2: a code is a conventional, generally

abbreviated, representation of an object.

Example: assign codes to the different students at an

institute:
year entered university + sequential number:
202400145. 9
 Notion of Codification /2
Objectives of codification :

- Unambiguously identify ( identifier sans

ambiguité) an individual within a group;
- Reduce space and time requirements;
- Represent certain properties of an object;
- Allow certain form controls on the
information.

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 Notion of Codification /3
Characteristics of a code :
- Uniqueness (unicité) : the code must make it possible to isolate an
object unambiguously within a whole,

- flexibility and durability (souplesse et pérénité) : a code should

normally be used for a very long time; flexibility is the quality that
enables it to adapt to changes in the population represented and to
retain its value over time. In particular, extensions and insertions
must always be planned for as objects grow over time.

Example: a company currently has 95 employees. If you choose a code

with two numeric positions, it may become invalid in a year if the
workforce increases to 100 employees,

Ease of use (commodité d’utilisation): this quality covers several

others: conciseness, ease of control and ease of use.
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 Various types of coding/1
In principle, the possibilities for coding are
unlimited. Here are just a few well-known types
of code.
Sequential coding: this involves assigning
consecutive numbers to the items to be coded
in the same set.

Example: a company's employees are coded in

chronological order of recruitment: 001, 002,...,
112. New recruits will be assigned codes 113,
114
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 Various types of coding/2
Benefits
- Unambiguous
- Simple to implement
- Allows extensions

Disadvantages
- Not significant, hence the need for a
correspondence table.
- Does not allow insertions
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 Various types of coding/3
Slice coding ( par tranche ) : involves dividing the set of
objects to be coded into several categories, with each
category of objects being allocated a slice of codes.
Within the slices, the codes are generally sequential.

Example: coding of products in a hardware stock (on 3

numeric positions)
001 to 088 refer to screws (VIS)
100 to 285 are nuts (Ecrous) /* new nuts may
be inserted can be inserted between 285 and 300 */

300 to 357 designate bolts (boulons)

.........
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 Various types of coding/4
Advantages
- If the slice codes are clearly distinct, the code
becomes less ambiguous than pure sequential
code
- Allows insertions and extensions.
Disadvantages:
- Difficulty in defining slice dimensions
- Need for a mapping table

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 Various types of coding/5
Articulated coding: codes are broken down into
several zones, with each zone having a specific
meaning.
Example: vehicle registration number .

135480 116 30
100170 223 55

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 Various types of coding/6
Benefits
- Unambiguous
- Allows insertions and extensions
- Control over certain properties
Disadvantages:
- Cumbersome coding, lots of characters
- Need to choose stable properties
- Saturation of available code values.

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 Various types of coding/7
Level (or hierarchical) coding :
Used when there are inclusion relationships
between the different sets. The code is
divided into several zones (levels), each
representing a set of objects. Viewed from left
to right, these zones represent increasingly
smaller sets. This coding can be considered as
a special case of articulated coding.
Example :
commune , daïra and wilaya
Postal office code (code du bureau postal)
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 Various types of coding/8
Benefits
- Same advantages as articulated coding
- Easy search in zones (it's a tree)

Disadvantages
- Cumbersome (lourd) code, wastes (fait
perdre) time and space

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 Various types of coding/9
Mnemonic coding: consists of abbreviating the
designation of an object using a reduced set of
characters which must be evocative of the
codified object.
Example:
ST_Name: Student name,
Num_Ord: Order Number,
NAP: National Accounting Plan (PCN)
H_w: Hours worked , B_D: Date of Birth
D_E: Date of Entry
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 Various types of coding/10
Benefits
- Easy to understand
- Allows insertions and extensions

Disadvantages
- Risk of ambiguity.

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 coding steps
Coding is a key step in the preparation of information, as errors at
this level often have far-reaching consequences and are not easy
to detect. It is therefore advisable to follow these steps :

- Define the population to be coded (type of individual, number

of individuals, their growth, maximum, etc.),
- Study any statistical breakdowns,
- First check whether there are any codifications already
proposed by specialist organisations,
- Check the stability of the properties on which the code is based,
- Define the code with the people who will subsequently have to
use it,
- Implement the code (provide instructions for using the code and
test it with users).

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 conclusion
Codification is a key step in the preparation of
information, and it must be carefully organised
and controlled, because errors at this level often
have very serious consequences and are not easy
to detect,

The validity of the codification of the information

used will determine the validity of the processing
and the results.

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 Example
- We consider a training establishment that offers
training at 3 levels: Technician, Advanced
Technician and Engineer.
- Each level is organised into 4 specialities
(management, finance, accounting and
marketing). each speciality has 3 sections and a
section may not contain more than 90 students.
- Propose a codification of these students
according to each type of codification

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