Huffman Coding is a lossless data compression algorithm that assigns variable-length codes to input characters, with shorter codes assigned to more frequent characters, optimizing the overall storage space. It is widely used in compression formats like JPEG and MP3 due to its efficient encoding and decoding processes based on frequency analysis and binary trees.

Huffman Coding

lossless data compression

Variable-length codes assign different lengths to different data item encodings, optimizing for more frequent elements with shorter representations. This technique enhances data compression efficiency by reducing average code length while maintaining easy decodability through prefix codes, like Huffman codes.

variable-length codes

input characters

shorter codes

more frequent characters

overall storage space

compression formats

JPEG is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. It significantly reduces file size by selectively discarding data, resulting in a balance between image quality and storage efficiency.

JPEG

efficient encoding

Efficient decoding processes

Frequency analysis is a cryptanalysis technique used to break ciphers by studying the frequency of letters or groups of letters in a ciphertext. It exploits the predictable patterns in language to reveal the original message, especially effective against simple substitution ciphers.

frequency analysis

A binary tree is a hierarchical data structure in which each node has at most two children, known as the left child and the right child. It is widely used in computer science for efficient searching, sorting, and hierarchical data representation, forming the basis for more complex structures like binary search trees and heaps.

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