🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <See Ref> Dan Bernstein (brnstnd@nyu.edu) writes:

>Practically every good compression method in the last ten years has been
>patented.

Ross Williams' SAKDC [1] (Swiss Army Knife Data Compression) algorithm is
not patented. I verified this with the author, he does not believe in
patenting algorithms.

>On December 26, 1990, I discovered an apparently new compression method,
>Y coding.

That is nice. I think you should publish the algorithm (and a through
analysis of it) in some respectable journal. That would provide you with
the appropriate feedback, allow wider dissamination of your algorithm in
general, and highlight one potential solution to the problem of patented
algorithms: invent a better one.

>... I am
>sick and tired of having to tiptoe through this minefield of patents; I
>want a method that produces good results and can be used freely by
>anyone.

Coincidentally, this month's DDJ contains some stuff on this topic,
including a compressor by Mark R. Nelson (model-2) that is 25-30% better
than compress. There is also a Data Compression Contest hosted by DDJ: who
knows what will turn up.

oz
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[1] Williams, Ross N., Adaptive Data Compression,
    Kluwer Publishers, Boston, 1991.
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