3.1.2

Run Length Encoding

Test yourself

Run Length Encoding

One compression algorithm you need to learn is run length encoding (RLE).

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Run length encoding

  • Run length encoding (RLE) is a form of lossless compression that replaces repeating sequences of 0s and 1s with more efficient representations.
  • Each repeating string will be replaced by a code which represents the character and the amount of times it is to be repeated.
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In images

  • In images, adjacent pixels are likely to be similar colours but slightly different.
  • Image compression algorithms often group these pixels together, and give them an 'average' colour.
  • The RLE algorithm can then run on the new image.
  • This technique then becomes lossy.

Jump to other topics

1Components of a Computer

2Software & Software Development

3Exchanging Data

4Data Types, Data Structures & Algorithms

5Legal, Moral, Cultural & Ethical Issues

6Elements of Computational Thinking

6.1Thinking Abstractly

6.2Thinking Ahead

6.3Thinking Procedurally

6.4Thinking Logically

6.5Thinking Concurrently

7Problem Solving & Programming

8Algorithms

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