What is Offset?

In computer science, "offset" refers to the distance from a starting point or origin. It is commonly used to calculate the position of a specific element within a data structure, such as an array or a file. For example, in an array, the offset indicates the index of a particular element from the beginning of the array. In file systems, an offset points to a specific location within a file, often measured in bytes from the start of the file. Offsets are crucial for random access operations, allowing direct access to data without traversing preceding elements.