Some file systems store information in exactly the format created by the user. Others attempt to optimize by compressing the data. Describe how you would implement a compression/ decompression mechanism.

What will be an ideal response?

Data compression is a powerful technique for reducing the amount of storage and
transmission time needed to hold and move data. It received a great deal of attention in the
space program as pictures from space exploration satellites were compressed by on-board
computers before being transmitted back to Earth.Often data contains large areas of repetition.
When such an area is seen, an escape character is inserted in the data to indicate “start
of compression coding.” Then some notation is employed to indicate that “all of the next so
many bytes are identical to the following byte.” Then regular coding of the data resumes.
Page description languages use techniques like this for indicating large white or black areas
on the page, rather than forcing the transmission of millions of redundant bits of data.