Newsgroups: comp.compression
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton)
Subject: Re: Trying to get maximum compression
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd.
Date: Sun, 24 Mar 91 21:48:51 GMT
Message-ID: <1991Mar24.214851.10224@looking.on.ca>
References: <1991Mar24.152106.6333@pegasus.com>

I don't understand the problem of trying to get maximum compression of
a specific 32 byte file.   The problem of compressing a specific file of
32 bytes makes no sense.  You either want to compress a general class of
32 byte files, because you have lots of them (in which case the answer may
be to compress them in groups) or a very large specific file.

Since any compression code will be more than 32 bytes long, the far simpler
answer is just to store the file rather than the decompressor.

Compression involves removing redundant information from a file.  A 32 byte
file by definition contains no more than 32 bytes of redundant information!

If you want to phrase your question, "how do I compress 32 byte files that
have the following properties?" then people can answer it.  Of course the
properties are needed, since if the file is random bits, it can't be compressed
in the general case.
-- 
Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473