Prefix code

A prefix code is a type of code system (typically a variable-length code) distinguished by its possession of the "prefix property", which requires that there is no code word in the system that is a prefix (initial segment) of any other code word in the system. For example, a code with code words {9, 55} has the prefix property; a code consisting of {9, 5, 59, 55} does not, because "5" is a prefix of "59" and also of "55". A prefix code is a uniquely decodable code: a receiver can identify each word without requiring a special marker between words.

Prefix codes are also known as prefix-free codes, prefix condition codes and instantaneous codes. Although Huffman coding is just one of many algorithms for deriving prefix codes, prefix codes are also widely referred to as "Huffman codes", even when the code was not produced by a Huffman algorithm. The term comma-free code is sometimes also applied as a synonym for prefix-free codes but in most mathematical books and articles (e.g.) a comma-free code is used to mean a self-synchronizing code, a subclass of prefix codes.