Google Publishes Zopfli As Open-Source Compression Algorithm

The Zopfli Compression Algorithm, which got its name from a Swiss bread recipe, is an implementation of the Deflate compression algorithm that creates a smaller output size compared to previous techniques, wrote Lode Vandevenne, a software engineer with Google's Compression Team, on the Google Open Source Blog on Thursday.

"The smaller compressed size allows for better space utilization, faster data transmission, and lower Web page load latencies. Furthermore, the smaller compressed size has additional benefits in mobile use, such as lower data transfer fees and reduced battery use," Vandevenne wrote.

The more exhaustive compression techniques used achieve higher data density but also make the compression a lot slower. This does not affect the decompression speed though, Vandenne wrote.  READ MORE