Data Compression: The Complete Reference (Hardcover)

by David Salomon (Author), G. Motta (Contributor), D. Bryant (Contributor)
Key Phrases: image compression, audio compression, wavelet methods, Statistical Methods, Other Methods, The Discrete Cosine Transform (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
From a review of a previous edition:

"A wonderful treasure chest of information; spanning a wide range of data compression methods, from simple text compression methods to the use of wavelets in image compression. It is unusual for a text on compression to cover the field so completely." --Computing Reviews

From the reviews of the fourth edition:

"A clear presentation of both the principles of data compression and all the important compression methods currently in use. The book is geared towards the nonspecialists. a ] can be a valuable reference for researchers with an interest in compression (or compression-related topics), engineers, and applied scientists working on products employing compression technology. a ] Overall, the book is an excellent reference on compression principles and methods for anyone with a general background in signal processing or computer science." (Shahram Shirani, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, March, 2008)

"The authora (TM)s comprehensive and informative presentation of these topics courageously does away with most of the theoretical topics needed to support the concepts a" which is most welcomed. a ] The text is easy to reada ] A collection of exercises for each chapter and a solid glossary are included. a ]the book is attractive to both the incidental reader (who needs a brief description and no details) and the more thorough one (who may use it for starting a research or teaching project). a ] The booka (TM)s size is alarmingly large, but appropriate for a complete reference work; it is rightfully titled." (Stefan Robila, ACM Computing Reviews, Vol. 49 (9), September 2008)

Product Description
Data compression is one of the most important fields and tools in modern computing. From archiving data to CD ROMs, and from coding theory to image processing, many facets of modern computing rely upon data compression. This new edition of "Data Compression" provides a comprehensive reference for the many different types and methods of compression. Included are a detailed and helpful taxonomy, description of most common methods, and discussions on the use and comparative benefits of methods and description of "how to" use them. The presentation is organized into the main branches of the field of data compression: run length encoding, statistical methods, dictionary-based methods, image compression, audio compression, and video compression.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1092 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 4th edition (December 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846286026
• ISBN-13: 978-1846286025
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #840,884 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Many algorithms included, but no in-depth discussion, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Data Compression: The Complete Reference (Paperback)

This book explains lots of algorithms, the author tries to give you a brief overview on each of them.

However, if you're interested in the concrete ideas and proofs on how the algorithms help you to compress your data, with some mathematical works, the book isn't enough. You'll find it difficult if you want to implement the algorithms by merely reading the book.

Some idea are not clearly explained too, say, the the information on Gzip is just a summary of the GNU documentation with no in-depth discussion.

Anyway, this book is a great one judging from the (sad) fact that there are not many references on the subject.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent overview of many algorithms, October 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Data Compression: The Complete Reference (Paperback)

This book is more about breadth than depth. It explains the workings of pretty much every data and image compression algorithm you've ever heard of. It's not as strong on theory as Bell/Cleary/Witten's _Text Compression_, and doesn't have source code like Nelson's _The Data Compression Book_, but it does a fine job of filling in the space between.

If you're not looking for source code or lots of theory, and just want to know what all these dozens of algorithms actually *do*, this would be an appropriate book for you.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensible but not very profound book, December 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Data Compression: The Complete Reference (Paperback)

The book is quite comprehensible also if English is not your mother tongue.

Many algorithms are touched on, but often not profound enough to allow programers to implement the methods. Also the subtitle "The Complete Reference" is questionable: I bought the book because I was looking for facts about the Elias-Willems algorithm. In vain!