Data Compression

Data compression is something that affects everyone without most people even realizing it. In an ever increasing mobile world, the necessity to store as much data in a rather limited amount of storage space is something that makes data compression relevant in the 21st century. It is a problem that would improve the quality and effectiveness of all devices, regardless of the size of their internal storage.

However, data compression affects more than physical storage space. A network’s main purpose is to connect computers to share files.  These files need to be sent bit by bit so the less bits there are to send, the quicker the network will be able to send files. This enables more users to use the same network in less amount of time. In many cases, it is quicker to compress a file on the server, send it over the network, and then decompress it on the client’s machine.

Data compression also affects how quickly a user’s computer can load the file for viewing or manipulation. Processors have data buses that have a fixed size. If the data in the file is greater than the buses’ bandwidth, the processor will need to break up the bits being sent. The less bits that need to be sent over these buses the quicker the computer will be able to load the file.

Further, data compression makes it less likely for sensitive data to be lost. If there is less data to be sent in a transmission, there will be a smaller likelihood of the data distorted in the course of the transmission. An unintentional side effect of compression is that it acts as a slight encryption as well. If the key for the compression is not known, the data stored in the file will seem like garbage to most programs. It should be noted that compression in and of itself is not intended to be encryption, but in  a way it is almost like a slight encryption.

There is a lot of information to cover about data compression and single group project cannot do the subject justice. Although a great amount of research was conducted, the surface of the ever expanding field of data compression has only been scratched. This research project’s findings were fascinating to say the least and our hope is that the viewers of our presentation and our website will be given a solid foundation for an understanding of data compression. We encourage our viewers to continue research in the area if they find our project interesting because there is much more information to gather on the subject.

Thanks for taking your time to view our website and we sincerely hope that you were able to learn something from our research.