Abstract: A method for compressing an input sequence of data portions to produce an output codestream and for partially decompressing the output codestream to obtain a selected segment of the input sequence is disclosed. The output codestream includes a sequence of non-matchable sequences and codewords. The codewords include a first codeword and subsequent codewords. Each of the codewords includes at least a length of a subsequent non-matchable sequence preceding a matchable first sequence. Each of the subsequent codewords further includes a first offset for indicating a start of the matchable first sequence in the preceding non-matchable sequence, a length of the matchable first sequence and a second offset for indicating a location of a preceding codeword in the output codestream. A program storage device and a compressing/decompressing system for providing the above method are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method for compressing an input sequence of data portions to produce an output codestream and for partially decompressing the output codestream to obtain a selected segment of the input sequence is disclosed. The output codestream includes a sequence of non-matchable sequences and codewords. The codewords include a first codeword and subsequent codewords. Each of the codewords includes at least a length of a subsequent non-matchable sequence preceding a matchable first sequence. Each of the subsequent codewords further includes a first offset for indicating a start of the matchable first sequence in the preceding non-matchable sequence, a length of the matchable first sequence and a second offset for indicating a location of a preceding codeword in the output codestream. A program storage device and a compressing/decompressing system for providing the above method are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method of providing a backup of data of a memory portion, by at least one compressor and writer pair, to at least one storage medium having a plurality of segments is disclosed. The method includes partitioning the memory portion into a number of memory blocks. The compressor compresses data, block by block, to produce compressed data for each block. The writer writes the compressed data for each block to an associated segment of the storage medium. Compressing and writing are synchronized to occur in a pipelined manner so that the compressor is able to compress data of a next block without having to wait for the completion of writing of compressed data of an earlier block to the storage medium. A program storage device and a system for providing the above method are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method for compressing an input sequence of data portions is disclosed. The input sequence is compressed using a Lempel-Ziv technique to generate an output codestream. The codestream includes an ordered sequence of codewords corresponding to and separate from a stream of at least one sequence of non-matchable portions in the input sequence. Each codeword includes three data items denoting a length of a non-matchable sequence receding a matchable first sequence, the offset associated therewith and the length of the matchable first sequence. The codewords are used to reference sequences of data portions which previously appeared when decompressing the output codestream to allow the input sequence to be rebuilt. A program storage device and a compressing system for providing the above method are also disclosed.