Python Dictionaries: A Data Compression Perspective
What is a Python Dictionary?
- A dictionary is a fundamental data structure in Python.
- It stores data in key-value pairs.
- Keys must be immutable (e.g., strings, numbers, tuples).
- Values can be of any data type.
- Dictionaries are unordered (before Python 3.7) and mutable.
Dictionaries and Data Compression
- Dictionaries facilitate efficient data representation.
- They can be used to build symbol tables for encoding/decoding in compression algorithms.
- Representing frequent data with shorter keys saves space.
- Key-value pairs can map original data to compressed representations.
Example: Huffman Coding with Dictionaries
- Create a dictionary mapping characters to their Huffman codes.
- { 'A': '00', 'B': '01', 'C': '10', 'D': '11'}
- Use this dictionary to encode a string.
- Decode using the same dictionary, reversing the mapping.
Example: Run-Length Encoding (RLE) with Dictionaries
- Use a dictionary to store repeated sequences and their counts.
- For instance, `{'AAA': 3, 'BB': 2, 'C':1}` represents 'AAABBC'.
- This reduces storage needs for repetitive data.
- RLE is a simple lossless compression method.
Advantages of using Dictionaries in Data Compression
- Fast lookups using keys for encoding/decoding.
- Efficient storage of symbol tables for various algorithms.
- Improved compression ratios due to optimized data representation.
- Flexibility to handle diverse data types.
**Google Search Description:** Learn Python dictionaries for data compression. This post explains dictionaries with examples of Huffman coding & Run-Length Encoding, improving your data compression skills.