Do you know how to reduce size of your data without losing them by Run-length encoding?reduce size of your data without losing them by Run-length encoding, read on.
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How does RLE work?
How to reduce size of your data without losing them by Run-length encoding? RLE is arguably the most straightforward compression technique available. It uses a count number and a single value to replace sequences of the same data values within a file. Assume the following data string (17 bytes) has to be compressed:
ABBBBBBBBBCDEEEEF
The compressed file, which uses RLE compression, is 10 bytes long and looks like this:
A *8B C D *4E F A*8B A*8B A*8B A*8B A
Control character
Repeating data strings are replaced by a control character (*), the number of repeated characters, and the repetitive character itself, as shown. The control character isn’t set in stone; it can change from one implementation to the next. One additional character is coded if the control character exists in the file.
RLE encoding
As you can see, RLE encoding is only successful if there are four or more repeated characters in a sequence. Because RLE requires three characters, coding two repeating characters would result in a file size increase. It’s crucial to understand that there are several run-length encoding techniques. The above example was used to explain the fundamental idea of RLE encoding. The RLE technique is sometimes tailored to the type of data being compressed.
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Advantages and drawbacks
This algorithm is simple to develop and does not need a lot of CPU power. Only files containing a lot of repeated data benefit from RLE compression. Text files with lots of spaces for indenting can be used, however line-art pictures with huge white or black regions are considerably more suited. Color pictures created by a computer (e.g. architectural drawings) can also provide a fair comparison.
Decompression of the RLE.
If we follow the computer’s method, we should be able to correctly reconstruct the picture from the compressed representation when we utilize run length encoding.
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RLE has a variety of applications.
When most computer graphics were icons with restricted color palettes, RLE compression was a common approach. Our pictures are more intricate these days, and there are fewer runs of the same hue.
What is the current status of RLE?
Because fax machines only need to display black and white letters, RLE is still used to compress faxed documents. JPEG pictures do employ RLE in the final step of compression, but they compress the photographic information first with a more complicated algorithm.
RLE variations
- Data is processed line by line from left to right in a sequential RLE. This method is commonly used to compress pictures. Data can also be scanned vertically, diagonally, or in blocks in certain other versions.
- Lossy RLE: During the compression process, some bits are wasted (usually by converting one or two significant bits of each pixel to 0). This allows for further compression without significantly altering the image’s look.
Limitations
RLE will be ineffective in the following situations:
- ABCD becomes 1A1B1C1D, which takes up more room than previously. As a result, the algorithm’s compression ratio is determined by the data.
- 66666666655 is transformed to 11625, which may be decompressed into 1-“1”,62-“5”, making it confusing for strings containing number characters.
- The method cannot be implemented in situ since it can even double the amount of the input.
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