Arithmetic coding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_coding#Encoding_and_decoding:_overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_coding#Encoding_and_..

Arithmetic coding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_coding#Encoding_and_decoding:_overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_coding#Encoding_and_... The entire message is coded into a single number and it approaches the theoretical maximum for compression. Too bad about software patents!