CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++algorithmstlcompression
TheSalamander
TheSalamander

Reputation: 67

Need some ideas for simple lossless compression algorithms in C++

I'm taking an intro to programming course and one of our assignments is to write a lossless compression program in C++. The only limitations we have are that we can not use the STL, static variables, or global variables. A lot of the compression algorithms I have found require use of map/multimap which I am not allowed to use so Huffman encoding and LZW are pretty much out of the question unless I can write my own map class and get it to work.

A lot of algorithms I found also use std::string, but I am perfectly fine using cstring (which we are allowed to use). I also have access to some libraries created by my professor that we can use. We have access to the following:

So anything besides the above I would have to write the code for myself.

Does anyone have any very simple lossless compression algorithms they would recommend? Huffman and the other compression algorithms I found online seem very complex, not to mention I cannot use map/multimap in STL :(. I'm not looking for the absolute fastest algorithm here, just something to serve as a starting point and we will adjust it as needed to make it run faster.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 965

Answers (1)

sehe
sehe

Reputation: 393674

A lot of the compression algorithms I have found require use of map/multimap which I am not allowed to use so Huffman encoding and LZW are pretty much out of the question

Huh? Of course not. Maps are a quite thin abstraction implementable on one of your trees or hash table implementations.

unless I can write my own map class and get it to work

So that's likely the point of the exercise.

Just go ahead. You can do OO in assembly. You can write algorithms without (ready-made) datastructures. It's just more work. And more error prone. And more educational (I hope :) Clearly good tuition is required too)

Upvotes: 2

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