Arithmetic coding is a form of entropy encoding used in lossless data compression. Normally, a string of characters such as the words "hello there" is represented using a fixed number of bits per character, as in the ASCII code. When a string is converted to arithmetic encoding, frequently used characters will be stored with fewer bits and not-so-frequently occurring characters will be stored with more bits, resulting in fewer bits used in total. Arithmetic coding differs from other forms of entropy encoding such as Huffman coding in that rather than separating the input into component symbols and replacing each with a code, arithmetic coding encodes the entire message into a single number, a fraction n where (0.0 ≤ n < 1.0).
Read more about Arithmetic Coding: Adaptive Arithmetic Coding, Precision and Renormalization, Arithmetic Coding As A Generalized Change of Radix, US Patents, Benchmarks and Other Technical Characteristics, Teaching Aid
Famous quotes containing the word arithmetic:
“‘Tis no extravagant arithmetic to say, that for every ten jokes,—thou hast got an hundred enemies; and till thou hast gone on, and raised a swarm of wasps about thine ears, and art half stung to death by them, thou wilt never be convinced it is so.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)