1.3 Data storage & Compression

• Order of units of sizes

  bit

  byte

  Kibibyte

  Mebibyte

  Gibibyte

  Tebibyte
• A byte consists of 8 bits.
• A kilobyte (kB) contains 2^10 bytes or 1024 bytes.
• Lossless compression

  reduces file size without permanently removing data

  • The number of times the pattern appears is also stored
  • Techniques like run-length encoding (RLE) and Huffman encoding are used
  • RLE replaces sequences of repeated characters with a code that represents the character and the number of times it is repeated
• Lossy compression

  reduces file size by permanently removing some data

  • This method is often used for images and audio files where minor details or data can be removed without significantly impacting the quality
  • Techniques like downsampling, reducing resolution or colour depth, and reducing the sample rate or resolution are used for lossy compression
• • Compression is necessary to reduce the size of large files for storage, transmission, and faster processing
  • The choice between lossy and lossless compression methods depends on the type of file and its intended use
  • Lossy compression is generally used for media files where minor data loss is acceptable while lossless compression is used for text, code, and archival purposes
• Overflow error

  Occurs when the value thats trying to be stored requires more than 255 bits.

  too large to be stored in register & the result requires more than 8 bits