ENCODING AND DECODING WITH DIFFERENTIAL ENCODING SIZE

In accordance with an embodiment, the method includes determining a second sequence of numbers of digits for encoding the respective integer coefficient values of the first sequence, the second sequence including, as first element, a first number of digits for encoding the first integer coefficient value of the first sequence, and as second and subsequent elements, constrained numbers of digits that are greater than or equal to respective minimum required numbers of digits for encoding the second and subsequent integer coefficient values of the first sequence. The constrained numbers of digits are such that any two successive elements of the second sequence do not differ from each other by more than a given threshold value. The method further includes encoding difference values between the successive elements of the second sequence; and encoding the integer coefficient values of the first sequence using the respective numbers of digits of the second sequence.