generic_compression

A simple Rust library and repository providing generic implementation of compression algorithms. Instead of providing end-to-end compression for byte arrays, this library provides a set of generic algorithms, that encode and decode data into logical representations of compressed data. So for example, for the lz77 algorithm, if you provide a byte array, instead of outputting a compressed byte array, this library outputs a vector of triples.

This means, that this library will not be ideal for the most common use cases, however, if you wish to roll your own compression algorithm, out of prebuilt algorithms this library is perfect for you. It is also a good way to learn about compression algorithms, as the code is simple and easy to read.

Library Features

• lz77: An implementation of the LZ77 compression algorithm.
• lz78: An implementation of the LZ78 compression algorithm.
• lzw: An implementation of the LZW compression algorithm.
• MTF: An implementation of the Move-to-Front transform.
• BWT: An implementation of the Burrows-Wheeler Transform transform.
• Huffman Encoding: An implementation of the Huffman coding algorithm.
• Arithmetic Encoding: An implementation of the Arithmetic coding algorithm.
• Serde support: The intermediate compressed data structures are serializable and deserializable using the serde library using the serde feature.

Command Line Utility

This package also provides a command line utility that utilizes the library to provide a simple interface for compressing and decompressing files using the lz77, lz78 and lzw algorithms. The command line utility is not the main feature of this package, but it is a nice addition for testing and playing around with how parameters affect the compression ratio and speed of the algorithms.