Understanding Encoder-Only Transformers: The Foundation of BERT and RAG Retrieval

Back in 2017, the first transformer architecture introduced two main components: an encoder a decoder These two parts were connected so they could work together. This original design is known as an encoder–decoder transformer . Decoders Can Work on Their Own Over time, researchers realized that the decoder alone was powerful enough for many tasks. Using only a decoder, models could: generate text continue sentences perform translation and other language tasks As we discussed in the article on de