New Features in Python 1.6

[François Pinard]

Lloyd Zusman <ljz at asfast.com> writes:

> I'll use the new compression algorithm I recently invented.  It's amazing!
> .. it compresses *anything* down to one bit.

Beware.  It might be patented already...  Let's see.  Does it work this way?

* If the file is empty, you're done.
* If the file holds a single bit, you're done.
* Split the whole file into pairs of sequences, the first part of the pair
  being an eager, but possibly empty sequence of consecutive zero-bits,
  the second part being an eager, but possibly empty sequence of consecutive
  one-bits.  Notice that there is only one way to do this split.
* Replace each sequence above by the count of bits it contains, expressed
  directly as a binary number for the first count of the pair, and as the
  one-complements of the binary number for the second count of the pair.
  Notice that given these counts, it is trivial to rebuild the contents
  of the previous step.
* Iterate.

-- 
François Pinard   http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~pinard