Following an exchange of correspondence, I met Ross in Adelaide in June 1988. I was approached by the University of Adelaide about being an external examiner for this dissertation and willingly agreed. Upon receiving a copy of this work, what struck me most was the scholarship with which Ross approaches and advances this relatively new field of adaptive data compression. This scholarship, coupled with the ability to express himself clearly using figures, tables, and incisive prose, demanded that Ross's dissertation be given a wider audience. And so this thesis was brought to the attention of Kluwer. The modern data compression paradigm furthered by this work is based upon the separation of adaptive context modelling, adaptive statistics, and arithmetic coding. This work offers the most complete bibliography on this subject I am aware of. It provides an excellent and lucid review of the field, and should be equally as beneficial to newcomers as to those of us already in the field.

Abstract: "We discuss the implementation of two locally adaptive data compression methods, called the transpose and interval coding. It is found out that the implementations are extremely efficient compared to other similar methods. Moreover, errors are less catastrophic to these methods than to most adaptive compression schemes."

Described by Jeff Prosise of PC Magazine as one of my favorite books on applied computer technology, this updated second edition brings you fully up-to-date on the latest developments in the data compression field. It thoroughly covers the various data compression techniques including compression of binary programs, data, sound, and graphics. Each technique is illustrated with a completely functional C program that demonstrates how data compression works and how it can be readily incorporated into your own compression programs. The accompanying disk contains the code files that demonstrate the various techniques of data compression found in the book.

Fundamental Data Compression provides all the information students need to be able to use this essential technology in their future careers. A huge, active research field, and a part of many people's everyday lives, compression technology is an essential part of today's Computer Science and Electronic Engineering courses. With the help of this book, students can gain a thorough understanding of the underlying theory and algorithms, as well as specific techniques used in a range of scenarios, including the application of compression techniques to text, still images, video and audio. Practical exercises, projects and exam questions reinforce learning, along with suggestions for further reading.* Dedicated data compression textbook for use on undergraduate courses* Provides essential knowledge for today's web/multimedia applications* Accessible, well structured text backed up by extensive exercises and sample exam questions