Data compression is a term that refers to the process of transforming a body of data to a smaller form, from which the original can be restored.
Data compression has many uses, especially in modern networking environments.
File transfer times can be significantly reduced by compressing large files. This might prove useful for retrieving database information within a company s internal network, or for downloading images on a internet web page. Compression is also useful for backing up files as it reduces the space required for information storage. The popular computer operating system MS-DOS includes a program called DriveSpace which can compress an entire volume, thus increasing its apparent capacity. There are two main types of data compression algorithms - lossless and lossy.