What is run-length coding?

What is run-length coding?

a) A type of data compression where a string of identical values is replaced by codes to indicate the value and the number of times it occurs. Thus a string of 70 spaces can be replaced by two bytes. One byte indicates the string consists of spaces and one byte indicates there are 70 of them. Run length coding is not as efficient as DCT for compression of pictures or video, since long sequences of the same values rarely exist in images. Run length coding is part of JPEG, MPEG, H.261, and H.263 compression schemes.

b) A coding scheme that counts the number of similar bits instead of sending them individually. c) Coding of data with different numbers of bits. Frequently reoccurring data has the smallest number of bits; data that seldom reoccur have the highest number of bits.