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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooke%27s_law
:)

The Compression Evolution: Fax Machines, ZIP, and 7Zip

Introduction

Once upon a time, before cloud storage, SSDs, and the miracle of “unlimited” Google Drive storage (RIP 😢), we had to squeeze every last byte of our data to make it fit.

Enter fax machines, ZIP files, and 7Zip—three very different but related technologies that use compression to make our digital lives easier.

Today, we’re diving into:

1. The ancient relic that is the fax machine (and why it made those weird screeching sounds).
2. How ZIP and 7Zip compress data (spoiler: it’s smarter than just “squishing” stuff).
3. How these three technologies are similar and different.

The History of Fax Machines, ZIP, and 7Zip

Fax Machines: The OG Data Compression Tool

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, if you wanted to send a document, you had two choices:

1. Mail it and wait a week. 📬
2. Fax it and listen to robotic screams over the phone. 🤖📞

Fax machines used phone lines to send images of documents. The problem? Phone lines were slow. So engineers got smart and compressed the images before sending them.

This is why, when receiving a fax, the speed would change—some lines of text would go fast, others slow. That’s because fax machines used an algorithm called Run-Length Encoding (RLE).

ZIP Files: The 1990s Hero of Compression

The ZIP file format was introduced in 1989 by Phil Katz (RIP, compression legend 🙏). ZIP files use multiple compression techniques, but the most famous one is Deflate, which combines:

• Huffman Coding (think of it as “shorter codes for common stuff”).
• Lempel-Ziv (LZ77) Compression (removes repeated patterns).

ZIP files became the standard for compressing multiple files into one neat package. 📦

7Zip: The Overachiever of Compression

In 1999, along came Igor Pavlov, a Russian programmer who thought:

“ZIP is great, but what if we could do better?”

And thus, 7Zip was born. The 7z format uses a more powerful LZMA (Lempel-Ziv-Markov chain) algorithm, which achieves higher compression ratios than ZIP.

The tradeoff? It’s slower to compress, but much better at squeezing files down.

How These Algorithms Work

How Are They Similar?

All three methods (fax, ZIP, and 7Zip) are about reducing redundancy in data.

• Fax Machines use Run-Length Encoding to shrink black-and-white images.
• ZIP and 7Zip use dictionary-based compression (LZ77, LZMA) to remove repeating patterns in text and files.

The goal? Shrink data as much as possible while still being readable on the other end.

How Are They Different?

Which One is the Best?

• If you’re stuck in 1995, fax machines are still kinda cool. 📠
• If you want fast and easy compression, ZIP files are the way to go. 🗜️
• If you’re okay with slower compression for better results, 7Zip wins. 🏆

Final Thoughts

• Fax machines were the original compression hackers, using RLE to make images smaller.
• ZIP files made compression standard with LZ77 and Huffman Coding.
• 7Zip took it to the next level, squeezing files even smaller with LZMA.

Now, next time you hear the chaotic beeping of a fax machine, you’ll know it’s just Run-Length Encoding doing its job! 😂

Key Ideas Table

References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-length_encoding
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_(file_format)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7z
• https://www.howtogeek.com/451717/what-is-7z-and-how-do-you-open-it/