arithmetic coding
nounUK /ˌærɪθˈmetɪk ˈkəʊdɪŋ/
US /ˌærɪθˈmetɪk ˈkoʊdɪŋ/
A way to squeeze data into a smaller space by turning it into a special number.
The program used arithmetic coding to make the image file much smaller.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A lossless compression method that represents a whole message as a single fractional number between 0 and 1.
Arithmetic coding can beat Huffman coding when symbol probabilities are very uneven.
3. A technique in which each symbol narrows an interval of numbers until the final interval identifies the message.
During arithmetic coding, the encoder keeps shrinking the interval as it reads each character.
4. A form of entropy encoding used in image and video formats to reduce file size.
Some modern video codecs rely on arithmetic coding for better compression ratios.