compression algorithm

Definition

Mathematical formula used in compression and decompression of an electronic data file to achieve very small storage space, or very fast transmission rate. Two types of compression algorithms are (1) Lossless: in which a decompressed file is of exactly the same size as the original (uncompressed) file because no detail or content is lost in compression-decompression process. (2) Lossy: in which a decompressed file is smaller in size than the origina file because some detail or content (which may not be obvious to the user) is lost in compression-decompression process. See also data compression.