This reference presents a blend of introductory material on what data compression is and how it operates, combined with an in-depth look at how data compression is used in real-world applications. In addition it offers practical guidance for future technology development. The text is arranged into four sections, beginning with an introduction to the user requirements for data compression and the marketplace constraints and rules that affect its application. An explanation of the most important algorithms for text, speech, image, and video data is provided in the next section. For each type of data, the reader is given the information needed to understand how data compression algorithms work. The following section is a comprehensive guide to the use of data compression in the computer, communications, consumer-electronics, publishing, entertainment, and healthcare industries.
