The simplest algorithm for data compression

Run-length encoding (RLE) is a very simple form of data compression. When RLE is used recurring pixels are stored as a single pixel and a count value. The compression ratio thus obtained is highly variable and is dependent upon the recurrence of pixels. For example, if there is a background of a single color then a very good compression ratio can be expected, but if the image is highly irregular then it will be much poorer. RLE may be used on any kind of data regardless of its content, but the data which is being compressed by RLE determines how good compression ratio will be achieved. ImageConverter Plus allows manipulating images with RLE compression. With our software this compression method is supported by most bitmap file formats, such as, BMP, PCX, EXR, PSD, TGA, TIFF, among which the last four allow saving images with the RLE compression applied. RLE is both easy to implement and quick to execute, making it a good alternative to either using a complex compression algorithm or leaving your image data uncompressed. If you need to come up with a way to compress a bitmap image, RLE compression is the way to go.