Adattömörítési

Adattömörítési refers to the process of reducing the size of data. This is achieved by encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation. The primary goal of data compression is to minimize storage space requirements and decrease the time needed for data transmission over networks. There are two main categories of data compression: lossless and lossy.

Lossless compression techniques allow the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data. This means no information is lost during the compression and decompression process. Examples of lossless compression algorithms include ZIP, GZIP, and PNG. These methods are crucial for applications where data integrity is paramount, such as text files, executable programs, and medical images.

Lossy compression techniques, on the other hand, achieve higher compression ratios by discarding some information that is considered less important or imperceptible to human senses. While the original data cannot be perfectly recovered, the loss of quality is often acceptable for many applications. Common examples of lossy compression are used in JPEG image files, MP3 audio files, and MP4 video files. The amount of data discarded can usually be adjusted to balance file size and perceived quality.

The choice between lossless and lossy compression depends on the type of data and the specific requirements of the application. For general-purpose data archiving and transmission, lossless compression is preferred. For multimedia content where storage and bandwidth are significant concerns, lossy compression is often the more practical choice.