Can counting repeats make a picture smaller?
A row of identical pixels contains a lot of repetition. Run-length encoding stores how long each stretch lasts, but the saving depends on the pattern and on how the counts themselves are recorded.
Questions you could explore
- What rules allow the original picture to be reconstructed?
- When could counting runs take more space than storing pixels directly?
Start reading
- Computer Science Field GuideRun length encoding
The Computer Science Field Guide works through a black-and-white image and compares its pixel and run-length representations.
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