Information and its Quantification

Abstract

Information Theory is concerned with the quantification, coding and transmission of information. Some of the basic ideas were formulated by Nyquist (1924) and by Hartley (1928), but the subject received a considerable boost during and shortly after the Second World War, largely due to Shannon, who is regarded as the founder of the modern theory (see Shannon and Weaver, 1949). Some of Shannon’s work was at first considered rather academic and impractical, but the technological developments of the last few years have changed this. Technology has caught up with Information Theory and the newly coined Information Technology is having great effects on our society. It may even make the writer redundant.