Ziv-Lempel Algorithm

The Ziv-Lempel algorithm is a method of data compression that reduces file size by identifying and replacing repeated patterns with shorter references. It works by building a dictionary of previously seen sequences as it reads the data. When it encounters a pattern already in the dictionary, it replaces it with a pointer to that pattern, rather than storing it again. This process efficiently compresses data, especially when there are many repeating sequences, making storage and transmission more efficient without losing information. It’s a foundational approach used in popular compression standards like ZIP and GIF.