Most data compression methods that are based on variable-length codes employ the Huffman or Golomb codes. However, there are a large number of less-known codes that have useful properties and these can be useful. This book brings this large set of codes to the attention of workers in the field and for students of computer science. The author’s crystal clear style of writing and presentation allows easy access to the topic.

Source Coding is the first part of the two-part monograph Fundamentals of Source and Video Coding by Wiegand and Schwarz. It is devoted to the fundamental subject of source coding. Source Coding is a standalone text and also forms the basis for the second part, which describes the application of sources coding techniques to video coding. Based on a simple and accessible presentation of the fundamentals of information and rate distortion theory, the authors describe the subjects of entropy coding and quantization as well as predictive and transform coding. All relevant source coding results that are required for the understanding of today's video compression algorithms are established. The emphasis is on source coding techniques that have become relevant for video coding in recent years. To illustrate the concepts and efficiency of the basic sources coding techniques, the authors provide numerous examples and experimental results for simple model sources. In addition to widely known results, the text also offers some elements that are new or rarely covered in references on source coding today, which include: Huffman coding for variable-length symbol sequences and PIPE coding, scalar quantization in combination with advanced entropy coding techniques, a simple model for the rate distortion performance of entropy-constrained scalar quantization for Gaussian sources that is valid over the entire bit rate range, a proof for the optimality of the Karhunen-Loève transform for Gaussian sources. Source Coding is suitable as a primary text for courses on this subject. It can also be used as a resource for teaching and as a comprehensive reference for professional engineers and academic researches.

Recent developments such as the invention of powerful turbo-decoding and irregular designs, together with the increase in the number of potential applications to multimedia signal compression, have increased the importance of variable length coding (VLC). Providing insights into the very latest research, the authors examine the design of diverse near-capacity VLC codes in the context of wireless telecommunications. The book commences with an introduction to Information Theory, followed by a discussion of Regular as well as Irregular Variable Length Coding and their applications in joint source and channel coding. Near-capacity designs are created using Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) chart analysis. The latest techniques are discussed, outlining radical concepts such as Genetic Algorithm (GA) aided construction of diverse VLC codes. The book concludes with two chapters on VLC-based space-time transceivers as well as on frequency-hopping assisted schemes, followed by suggestions for future work on the topic. Surveys the historic evolution and development of VLCs Discusses the very latest research into VLC codes Introduces the novel concept of Irregular VLCs and their application in joint-source and channel coding

This book presents a succinct and mathematically rigorous treatment of the main pillars of Shannon’s information theory, discussing the fundamental concepts and indispensable results of Shannon’s mathematical theory of communications. It includes five meticulously written core chapters (with accompanying problems), emphasizing the key topics of information measures; lossless and lossy data compression; channel coding; and joint source-channel coding for single-user (point-to-point) communications systems. It also features two appendices covering necessary background material in real analysis and in probability theory and stochastic processes. The book is ideal for a one-semester foundational course on information theory for senior undergraduate and entry-level graduate students in mathematics, statistics, engineering, and computing and information sciences. A comprehensive instructor’s solutions manual is available.