Variable-length Quantity - General Structure

General Structure

The encoding assumes an octet (an eight-bit byte) where the most significant bit (MSB), also commonly known as the sign bit, is reserved to indicate whether another VLQ octet follows.

VLQ Octet
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20
A Bn

If A is 0, then this is the last VLQ octet of the integer. If A is 1, then another VLQ octet follows.

B is a 7-bit number and n is the position of the VLQ octet where B0 is the least significant. The VLQ octets are arranged most significant first in a stream.

Read more about this topic:  Variable-length Quantity

Famous quotes containing the words general and/or structure:

    “A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him.”
    —Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)

    “Science is intimately integrated with the whole social structure and cultural tradition. They mutually support one other—only in certain types of society can science flourish, and conversely without a continuous and healthy development and application of science such a society cannot function properly.”
    —Talcott Parsons (1902–1979)