> Notice how the decoded values give relative positions, each value represents the difference from the previous position, not absolute coordinates. This is crucial: instead of encoding large column numbers like 27698 in minified files, source maps only store small deltas like +7 or +15, making the encoded strings much more compact.
Wouldn't "offset" be a more apt term?
manojvivek•3mo ago
To me, “offset” sounds more like the distance from the start, whereas here the values are relative to the previous segment.
Not a native english speaker, so I could be wrong.
tantalor•3mo ago
Offset is difference from a starting point or a previous position
jagged-chisel•3mo ago
“Offset” is not enough on its own. Offset from what? Start of file? Absolute offset. Previous offset? Relative offset.
willrshansen•3mo ago
2nd order offset. The offset from the <offset from the start of the file>
eat_veggies•3mo ago
perhaps the delta between offsets
jagged-chisel•3mo ago
We’re gonna need the delta of deltas
recursive•3mo ago
It sounds equally apt to my ear. I've used both words for this concept in the past.
hanikesn•3mo ago
Delta Encoding is the common term
tracker1•3mo ago
Agreed... Delta Encoding, or even Delta Offset would work together.
accrual•3mo ago
In this case I feel it's like six of one and a half-dozen of the other.
Delta definition 4: (mathematics, physics, engineering) The symbol Δ; A change in a quantity, likely from "d" for "difference"
Offset definition 7: The distance by which one thing is out of alignment with another.
Delta and offset mean the same thing — the difference between two amounts.
Delta is perhaps slightly more obscure outside of a math setting. Perhaps.
saghm•3mo ago
I feel like choosing the synonym that happens to be one letter shorter when the operation is literally intended to track things in a way that's more conscise is about as "apt" as it could be!
zb3•3mo ago
Tangentially related, but last year I've made a tool to recover original sources from web apps which expose source maps (with the sourcesContent value present), including enumerating all lazily loaded chunks:
tantalor•3mo ago
Wouldn't "offset" be a more apt term?
manojvivek•3mo ago
tantalor•3mo ago
jagged-chisel•3mo ago
willrshansen•3mo ago
eat_veggies•3mo ago
jagged-chisel•3mo ago
recursive•3mo ago
hanikesn•3mo ago
tracker1•3mo ago
accrual•3mo ago
Delta definition 4: (mathematics, physics, engineering) The symbol Δ; A change in a quantity, likely from "d" for "difference"
Offset definition 7: The distance by which one thing is out of alignment with another.
Got these from Wiktionary:
* https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/delta
* https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/offset
paulddraper•3mo ago
Delta is perhaps slightly more obscure outside of a math setting. Perhaps.
saghm•3mo ago