A coding method is adapted to select different codebook search algorithms according to varied types of input signals. An encoder using the coding method is also provided. As appropriate search algorithms may be selected according to all possible structural features of the input signals, certain types of signals for which satisfactory results may be obtained through simple computations may match with search algorithms suitable for these signal types and having low computation complexities, so as to achieve better performance with fewer system resources. Meanwhile, other types of signals that need complicated computations may be processed by more sophisticated search algorithms, thereby ensuring the coding quality.