Binary File Compressor

A lossless file compressor and decompressor written in C using Run-Length Encoding (RLE).

The program can compress and decompress any binary file, making it suitable for text files, images, executables, and other binary data.

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Features

• Compresses arbitrary binary files
• Decompresses files back to their original form
• Uses a simple Run-Length Encoding (RLE) algorithm
• Implemented in pure C
• Lightweight and easy to understand

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Project Structure

.
├── main.c
├── README.md
└── bin
    └── Debug
        └── Compressor.exe

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Building

The project was created using Code::Blocks.

Alternatively, it can be compiled with GCC:

gcc main.c -o Compressor

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Usage

Compress a file

Compressor compress input_file output_file

Example:

Compressor compress image.bmp image.rle

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Decompress a file

Compressor decompress input_file output_file

Example:

Compressor decompress image.rle restored.bmp

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Algorithm

The compressor uses Run-Length Encoding (RLE).

Instead of storing repeated bytes individually, it stores:

(byte value, repetition count)

For example:

Input:

AAAAABBBBCC

is stored as:

(A,5)(B,4)(C,2)

Each repetition count is stored in a single byte, allowing runs of up to 255 consecutive bytes.

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