The ELS-coder: a rapid entropy coder

Summary form only given. The ELS-coder is a new entropy-coding algorithm combining rapid encoding and decoding with near-optimum compression ratios. It can be combined with data-modeling methods to produce data-compression applications for text, images, or any type of digital data. Previous algorithms for entropy coding include Huffman coding, arithmetic coding, and the Q- and QM-coders, but all show limitations of speed or compression performance, so that new algorithms continue to be of interest. The ELS-coder, which uses no multiplication or division operations, operates more rapidly than traditional arithmetic coding. It compresses more effectively than Huffman coding (especially for a binary alphabet) and more effectively than the Q- or QM-coder except for symbol probabilities very close to zero or one.