An evaluation of the Lempel-Ziv-Welch data compression algorithm

The Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) data compression algorithm is evaluated for use in the removal of the redundancy in computer files. The Ziv-Lempel algorithm and related algorithms are compared with respect to encoding and decoding speed, memory requirements, and compression ratio. Although the LZW algorithm is optimized for hardware implementation, the possibility of implementing it in software is considered. The most important parameter, the compression ratio, was found to be similar to or better than that of other Ziv-Lempel compression techniques, whereas coding speed and memory requirements depended on the programming techniques used.<>