The document discusses different methods of encoding, including binary encoding, which represents data as strings of 1s and 0s. It also mentions encoding techniques like octal encoding, hexadecimal encoding, and permutation encoding. Genetic algorithms are commonly used to solve optimization problems, with chromosomes represented as binary-coded strings. The length of these strings determines the solution accuracy. Encoding translates information into a format that can be processed or transmitted, while decoding translates it back to the original format.