Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pyrdc!gmu90x!peraino
From: peraino@gmu90x.gmu.edu (peraino)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: RE: New screen compression routines.
Message-ID: <2580@gmu90x.gmu.edu>
Date: 21 Feb 90 17:22:54 GMT
Organization: George Mason Univ., Fairfax Va.
Lines: 29


>From Jake-S@cup.portal.com Mon Feb 19 18:42:12 1990
>Subject: Re: New screen compression routines.
>
>Regarding screen or any general string compression routines, I have a ques-
>tion for the group: Wouldn't there be an advantage to a compression tech-
>nique which would search for ANY repeating byte for say, six or more repeats
>in a row? This would squeeze anything down, including 'white' and 'black'
>bytes. Just a thought.
>
>Jake Schwartz


     Doing all bytes makes the Run Length prefix much more complicated, which
adds to the overhead in the output file. If repeats of other types of bytes
were common, it might pay off. But in practice, repeats, at the byte level,
of anything except all black or white, are not common. I am working
with a new algorithm which may give us a really great screen compressor.
It will be at the expense of speed, but the results will be so good,
no one will use the RLE based ones again.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Bob Peraino                   UUCP    : uunet!pyrdc!gmu90x!peraino
 George Mason University             INTERNET: peraino@gmuvax.gmu.edu
UCIS, Thompson Hall, rm 2 <-         BITNET  : peraino@gmuvax
  4400 University Drive     \        PHONE   : (703)-323-2549
   Fairfax, VA  22030        \- Yeah, they put us in the basement, too.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------