Today's increased use of digital sound and video makes data compression crucial to computer technology because of its vast storage and transmission requirements. The question in many applications is now not whether to compress data, but what compression method should be applied. Most data compression books have been written for professionals and require a strong background in data compression techniques as well as an understanding of algorithms based on sophisticated mathematical models. This book is one of a handful of textbooks to present Data Compression for readers in an academic environment. This is not a simple task since most of the widely used algorithms rely on sophisticated mathematical models. ELEMENTS OF DATA COMPRESSION addresses the needs of readers who will use these techniques on a daily basis. The author accomplishes this through the use of elementary-level representative methods of text, audio, and video compression. Drozdek presents these methods with pseudocode, tables, diagrams, and many worked out examples, all the while employing commonly used techniques that build upon the mathematics readers have been exposed to in earlier courses.