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<p><span class="header">About File Compression</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">Before transferring files on the Internet, it is important
to have some understanding of file compression. To send uncompressed files
over the Internet, whether to friends or family - or even to a person
you've never met before - is, to say the least, cruel and unusual punishment.</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">Uncompressed files, many of which are 10 times larger
than their compressed cousins, can take forever to download. In addition,
the very act of downloading is a <i>bandwidth hog</i>, with the result
that any concurrent Internet surfing will slow in consideration of your
new bandwidth partner (the downloading file).</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">In the worst-case scenario, that uncompressed file you
just finished sending your boss has now grabbed all of the remaining space
in his or her e-mail account, with the result that all subsequent e-mails
sent to that same address are rejected for lack of space. Remember, most
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) limit POP (Post Office Protocol) e-mail
account space to a paltry 5MB.</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">In short, if you don't compress your files before sending
these over the Internet, it's probably best that you don't.</span></p>
<p span class="bold">What is file compression and how does it work?</p>
<p><span class="cm">Computer applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel
produce files that are redundant when saved, in that the information they
contain, being the little bits and bytes that make up an electronic file,
is repeated over and over. For example, a particular word, formula or
other such pattern could appear in a document more than 500 times. Rather
than repeating this information 500 times, a compression utility for <a href="../zip/zip_frameset.htm" target="_top" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Zipping Files');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">zipping
files</a> will assign a number to this particular pattern, cataloging
it only once. The descriptive bits and bytes constituting the use of this
pattern 500 times are then removed.</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">For the more technically inclined, the rewriting of
data to reduce file sizes is generally accomplished using some variation
of the LZ adaptive dictionary-based algorithm. LZ refers to Lempel and
Ziv, the algorithm's creators, and dictionary refers to the method of
cataloging the various pieces of data.</span></p>
<p class="bold">How is the original document restored after removing all
of these bits and bytes?</p>
<p><span class="cm">Simple. An expansion program built into <a href="../zip/zip_frameset.htm" target="_top" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Zipping Files');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">zip
programs</a> refers to the dictionary that accompanies the compressed
file, and then rebuilds the document to its original specifications based
on the cataloged patterns.</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">To illustrate the effectiveness of file compression,
the 2 files shown below contain the same MS Word document consisting of
a single sentence. The zipped version is 1.82 K in size, while the same
file, uncompressed, weighs in at 19 K - a whopping 10 times larger. Which
would you rather receive? </span>Right-click the links below, select <span class="bold">Save
Target As</span>, and then hit <span class="bold">Save</span>. You get
the point, right? </p>
<p> <span class="cm"><a href="downloads/single_sentence.zip" target="_blank" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Zipped File');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">single_sentence.zip</a>
(1.82 K — compressed)<br>
<a href="downloads/single_sentence.doc" target="_blank" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Uncompressed File');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">single_sentence.doc</a>
(19.0 K — uncompressed)</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">For related information on this topic, see our sections
on <a href="../zip/zip_frameset.htm" target="_top" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Zipping Files');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">Zipping
Files</a>, <a href="../digit/digit_frameset.htm" target="_top" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Digitizing Documents');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">Digitizing
Documents</a>, and <a href="../resizing/resizing_frameset.htm" target="_top" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Resizing Images');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">Resizing
Images</a>.</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">In summary, it's best to send only compressed files
over the Internet. Doing so lets other users know that you truly understand
the nature of file transfers and that - more importantly - you are considerate
of their time and e-mail account limitations.</span></p>
<p><span class="cm">At Adjusters Asia, helping clients to move information
quickly and securely is only one of the many services offered by our staff
of independent insurance claims adjusters, marine surveyors, construction
project managers, mediators, private investigators and technology professionals.</span></p>
<p><a href="#top" onMouseOver="MM_displayStatusMsg('Back to the top of this page');return document.MM_returnValue" class="cm_link_2">Back
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