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The Compression Code

The code for Huffman compression and decompression is shown in the listing below. This single file, HUFF.C, is about 500 lines long, of which probably 30 percent is comments. So we are able to implement a static dictionary Huffman compressor in only about 300 lines of code. The actual amount of code could easily be crunched down to a number much less than that. The small code and storage requirements make Huffman coding ideal for applications where both memory and CPU storage are at a premium.

/********************** Start of HUFF.C  *************************/

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <ctype.h>
#include "bitio.h"
#include "errhand.h"
#include "main.h"

/*
* The NODE structure is a node in the Huffman decoding tree.  It has a
* count, which is its weight in the tree, and the node numbers of its
* two children.  The saved_count member of the structure is only
* there for debugging purposes, and can be safely taken out at any
* time.  It just holds the intial count for each of the symbols, since
* the count member is continually being modified as the tree grows.
*/
typedef struct tree_node {
     unsigned int count;
     unsigned int saved_count;
     int child_0;
     int child_1
} NODE;

/*
* A Huffman tree is set up for decoding, not encoding.  When encoding,
* I first walk through the tree and build up a table of codes for
* each symbol.  The codes are stored in this CODE structure.
/*

typedef struct code {
     unsigned int code;
     int code_bits;
} CODE;

/*
* The special EOS symbol is 256, the first available symbol after all
* of the possible bytes.  When decoding, reading this symbol
* indicates that all of the data has been read in.
*/
#define END_OF_STREAM 256

/*
* Local function prototypes, defined with or without ANSI prototypes.
*/
#ifdef  __STDC__

void count_bytes( FILE *input, unsigned long *long_counts );
void scale_counts( unsigned long *long_counts, NODE *nodes );
int build_tree( NODE *nodes );
void convert_tree_to_code( NODE *nodes,
                           CODE *codes,
                           unsigned int code_so_far,
                           int bits,
                           int node );
void output_counts( BIT_FILE *output, NODE *nodes );
void input_counts( BIT_FILE *input, NODE *nodes );
void print_model( NODE *nodes, CODE *codes );
void compress_data( FILE *input, BIT_FILE *output, CODE *codes );
void expand_data( BIT_FIle *input, FILE *output, NODE *nodes,
                  int root_node );
void print_char( int c );
#else /* __STDC__ */

void count_bytes();
void scale_counts();
int build_tree();
void convert_tree_to_code();
void output_counts();
void input_counts();
void print_model();
void compress_data();
void expand_data();
void print_char();

#endif /* __STDC__ */

/*
* These two strings are used by MAIN-C.C and MAIN-E.C to print
* messages of importance to the use of the program.
*/
char *CompressionName = "static order 0 model with Huffman coding";
char *Usage =
"infile outfile [-d]\n\n\ Specifying -d will dump the modeling\
   data\n";

/*
* CompressFile is the compression routine called by MAIN-C.C.  It
* looks for a single additional argument to be passed to it from
* the command line:  "-d".  If a "-d" is present, it means the
* user wants to see the model data dumped out for debugging
* purposes.
*
* This routine works in a fairly straightforward manner.  First,
* it has to allocate storage for three different arrays of data.
* Next, it counts all the bytes in the input file.  The counts
* are all stored in long int, so the next step is to scale them down
* to single byte counts in the NODE array.  After the counts are
* scaled, the Huffman decoding tree is built on top of the NODE
* array.  Another routine walks through the tree to build a table
* of codes, one per symbol. Finally, when the codes are all ready,
* compressing the file is a simple matter.  After the file is
* compressed, the storage is freed up, and the routine returns.
*
*/
void CompressFile( input, output, argc, argv )
FILE *input;
BIT_FILE *output;
int argc;
char *argv[];
{

     unsigned long *counts;
     NODE *nodes;
     CODE *codes;
     int root_node;

     counts = ( unsigned long *)
                   calloc( 256, sizeof( unsigned long ) );
     if ( counts == NULL )
       fatal_error( "Error allocating counts array\n" );
     if ( ( nodes = (NODE *)
                     calloc( 514, sizeof( NODE ) ) ) == NULL )
       fatal_error( "Error allocating nodes array\n" );
     if ( ( codes = (CODE *)
                     calloc( 257, sizeof( CODE ) ) ) == NULL )
       fatal_error( "Error allocating codes array\n" );
     count_bytes( input, counts );
     scale_counts( counts, nodes );
     output_counts( output, nodes );
     root_node = build_tree( nodes );
     convert_tree_to_code( nodes, codes, 0, 0, root_node );
     if ( argc > 0 && strcmp( argv[ 0 ], "-d" ) == 0 )
       print_model( nodes, codes );
     compress_data( input, output, codes );
     free( (char *) counts );
     free( (char *) nodes );
     free( (char *) codes );
}

/*
* ExpandFile is the routine called by MAIN-E.C to expand a file that
* has been compressed with order 0 Huffman coding.  This routine has
* a simpler job than that of the Compression routine.  All it has to
* do is read in the counts that have been stored in the compressed
* file, then build the Huffman tree.  The data can then be expanded
* by reading in a bit at a time from the compressed file.  Finally,
* the node array is freed and the routine returns.
*
*/
void ExpandFile( input, output, argc, argv )
BIT_FILE *input;
FILE *output;
int argc;
char *argv[];
{

     NODE *nodes;
     int root_node;

     if ( ( nodes = (NODE *)
                    calloc( 514, sizeof( NODE ) ) ) == NULL )
       fatal_error( "Error allocating nodes array\n" );
     input_counts( input, nodes );
     root_node = build_tree( nodes );
     if ( argc > 0 && strcmp( argv[ 0 ], "-d" ) == 0 )
          print_model( nodes, 0 );
     expand_data( input, output, nodes, root_node );
     free( (char *) nodes );
}

/*
* In order for the compressor to build the same model, I have to
* store the symbol counts in the compressed file so the expander can
* read them in. In order to save space, I don't save all 256 symbols
* unconditionally. The format used to store counts looks like this:
*
* start, stop, counts, start, stop, counts, ... 0
*
* This means that I store runs of counts, until all the non-zero
* counts have been stored. At this time the list is terminated by
* storing a start value of 0. Note that at least 1 run of counts has
* to be stored, so even if the first start value is 0, I read it in.
* It also means that even in an empty file that has no counts, I have
* to pass at least one count, which will have a value of 0.
*
* In order to efficiently use this format, I have to identify runs of
* non-zero counts. Because of the format used, I don't want to stop a
* run because of just one or two zeros in the count stream. So I have
* to sit in a loop looking for strings of three or more zero values
* in a row.
*
* This is simple in concept, but it ends up being one of the most
* complicated routines in the whole program. A routine that just
* writes out 256 values without attempting to optimize would be much
* simpler, but would hurt compression quite a bit on small files.
*
*/
void output_counts ( output, nodes )
BIT_FILE *output;
NODE *nodes;
{
     int first;
     int last;
     int next;
     int i;
     first = 0;
     while ( first < 255 && nodes[ first ].count == 0 )
          first++;
/*
* Each time I hit the start of the loop,  I assume that first is the
* start of a run of non-zero values.  The rest of the loop is
* concerned with finding the value for last, which is the end of the
* run, and the value of next, which is the start of the next run.
* At the end of the loop, I assign next to first, so it starts in on
* the next run.
*/
     for ( ; first < 256 ; first = next) {
          last = first + 1;
          for ( ; ; ) {
              for ( ; last < 256 ; last ++ )
                   if ( nodes[ last ].count == 0 )
                        break;

              last--;
              for ( next = last + 1; next < 256 ; next++ )
                   if ( nodes[ next ]. count ! = 0 )
                        break;
              if ( next > 255 )
                   break;
              if ( ( next - last ) > 3 )
                   break;
              last = next;
          };
/*
* Here is where I output first, last, and all the counts in between.
*/
             if ( putc( first, output->file ) != first)
                  fatal_error( "Error writing byte counts\n" );
             if ( putc( last, output->file ) != last)
                  fatal_error( "Error writing byte counts\n" );
             for ( i = first ; i <= last ; i++ ) {
                 if ( putc( nodes[ i ]. count, output->file ) !=
                      (int) nodes[ i ]. count)
                      fatal_error( "Error writing byte counts\n" );
             }
       }
       if ( putc( 0, output->file ) != 0
              fatal_error( "Error writing byte counts\n" );
}
/*
* When expanding, I have to read in the same set of counts.  This is
* quite a bit easier that the process of writing them out, since no
* decision making needs to be done.  All I do is read in first, check
* to see if I am all done, and if not, read in last and a string of
* counts.
*/
void input_counts( input, nodes)
BIT_FILE *input;
NODE *nodes;
{
     int first;
     int last;
     int i;
     int c;

     for ( i = 0 ; i < 256 ; i++ )
         nodes[ i ]. count = 0;
     if ( ( first = getc( input->file ) ) == EOF)
          fatal_error( "Error reading byte counts\n" );
     if ( ( last = getc( input->file ) ) == EOF )
          fatal_error( "Error reading byte counts\n);
     for ( ; ; ) {
         for ( i = first ; i <= last ; i++ )
             if ( ( c = getc( input->file ) ) == EOF)
                  fatal_error( "Error reading byte counts\n" );
             else
                  nodes[ i ]. count = (unsigned int) c;
         if ( ( first = getc( input->file ) ) == EOF )
              fatal_error( "Error reading byte counts\n" );
         if ( first == 0)
              break;
         if ( ( last = getc( input->file ) ) == EOF )
              fatal_error( "Error reading byte counts\n" );
     }
     nodes[ END_OF_STREAM ].count = 1;
}

/*
* This routine counts the frequency of occurence of every byte in
* the input file.  It marks the place in the input stream where it
* started, counts up all the bytes, then returns to the place where
* it started.  In most C implementations, the length of a file
* cannot exceed an unsigned long, so this routine should always
* work.
*/
#ifndef SEEK_SET
#define SEEK_SET 0
#endif

void count_bytes( input, counts)
FILE *input;
unsigned long *counts;
{
     long input_marker;
     int c;

     input_marker = ftell( input );
     while ( ( c = getc( input ) ) != EOF )
         counts[ c ]++;
     fseek( input, input_marker, SEEK_SET );
}

/*
* In order to limit the size of my Huffman codes to 16 bits, I scale
* my counts down so they fit in an unsigned char, and then store them
* all as initial weights in my NODE array.  The only thing to be
* careful of is to make sure that a node with a non-zero count doesn't
* get scaled down to 0.  Nodes with values of 0 don't get codes.
*/
void scale_counts( counts, nodes )
unsigned long *counts;
NODE *nodes;
{
     unsigned long max_count;
     int i;

     max_count = 0;
     for ( i = 0 ; i < 256 ; i++ )
         if ( counts[ i ] > max_count )
              max_count = counts[ i ] ;
     if ( max_count == 0 ) {
          counts[ 0 ] = 1;
          max_count = 1;
     }
     max_count = max_count / 255;
     max_count = max_count + 1;
     for ( i = 0 ; i < 256 ; i++ ) {
          nodes[ i ].count = (unsigned int)
                                 ( counts[ i ] / max_count );
          if ( nodes[ i ].count == 0 && counts[ i ] !=0 );
               nodes[ i ].count = 1;
     }
     nodes[ END_OF_STREAM ]. count = 1;
}
/*
* Building the Huffman tree is fairly simple.  All of the active nodes
* are scanned in order to locate the two nodes with the minimum
* weights.  These two weights are added together and assigned to a new
* node.  The new node makes the two minimum nodes into its 0 child
* and 1 child.  The two minimum nodes are then marked as inactive.
* This process repeats until there is only one node left, which is
* the root node.  The tree is done, and the root node is passed back
* to the calling routine.
*
* Node 513 is used here to arbitratily provide a node with a guaran
* teed maximum value.  It starts off being min_1 and min_2.  After all
* active nodes have been scanned, I can tell if there is only one
* active node left by checking to see if min_1 is still 513.
*/
int build_tree( nodes )
NODE *nodes;
{
     int next_free;
     int i;
     int min_1;
     int min_2;

     nodes[ 513 ].count = Oxffff;
     for ( next_free = END_OF_STREAM + 1 ; ; next_free++ ) {
          min_1 = 513;
          min_2 = 513;
          for ( i = 0 ; i < next_free; i++ )
              if ( nodes[ i ].count != 0) {
                  if ( nodes[ i ].count < nodes[ min_1 ].count ) {
                   min_2 + min_1;
                   min_1 = i;
                  } else if ( nodes[ i ].count
                              < nodes[ min_2 ].count)
                    min_2 = i;
              }
          if ( min_2 == 513 )
               break;
          nodes[ next_free ].count = nodes[ min_1 ].count
                                      + nodes[ min_2 ].count;
          nodes[ min_1 ].saved_count = nodes[ min_1 ].count;
          nodes[ min_1 ].count = 0;
          nodes[ min_2 ].saved_count = nodes[ min_2 ].count;
          nodes[ min_2 ].count = 0;
          nodes[ next_free ].child_0 = min_1;
          nodes[ next_free ].child_1 = min_2;
          }
          next_free--;
          nodes[ next_free ].saved_count = nodes[ next_free ].count;
          return( next_free );
}
/*
* Since the Huffman tree is built as a decoding tree, there is
* no simple way to get the encoding values for each symbol out of
* it.  This routine recursively walks through the tree, adding the
* child bits to each code until it gets to a leaf.  When it gets
* to a leaf, it stores the code value in the CODE element, and
* returns.
*/
void convert_tree_to_code( nodes, codes, code_so_far, bits, node )
NODE *nodes;
CODE *codes;
unsigned int code_so_far;
int bits;
int node;
{
     if ( node <= END_OF_STREAM ) {
          codes[ node ].code = code_so_far;
          codes[ node ].code_bits = bits;
          return;

     }
     code_so_far <<= 1;
     bits++;
     convert_tree_to_code( nodes, codes, code_so_far, bits,
                           nodes[ node ]. child_0 );
     convert_tree_to_code( nodes, codes, code_so_far | 1,
                           bits, nodes[ node ].child_1 );
}
/*
* If the -d command line option is specified, this routine is called
* to print out some of the model information after the tree is built.
* Note that this is the only place that the saved_count NODE element
* is used for anything at all, and  in this case it is just for
* diagnostic information.  By the time I get here, and the tree has
* been built, every active element will have 0 in its count.
*/
void print_mode1( nodes, codes )
NODE *nodes;
CODE *codes;
{
     int i;

     for ( i = 0 ; i < 513 ; i++ ) {
       if ( nodes[ i ].saved_count != 0 ) {
            printf( "node=" );
            print_char( i );
            printf( " count=%3d", nodes[ i ].saved_count );
            printf( " child_0=" );
            print_char( nodes[ i ]. child_0 );
            printf( " child_1=" );
            print_char( nodes[ i ].child_1 );
            if ( codes && i <= END_OF_STREAM ) {
                printf( " Huffman code=" );
                FilePrintBinary( stdout, codes[ i ].code,
                                 codes[ i ].code_bits );
            }
            printf( "\n" );
       }
     }
}

/*
* The print_model routine uses this function to print out node num
* bers.  The catch is if it is a printable character, it gets printed
* out as a character.  This makes the debug output a little easier to
* read.
*/
void print_char( c )
int c;
{
     if ( c >= 0x20 && c < 127 )
          printf( "`%c'", c );
     else
          printf( "%3d", c );
}

/*
* Once the tree gets built, and the CODE table is built, compressing
* the data is a breeze.  Each byte is read in, and its corresponding
* Huffman code is sent out.
*/
void compress_data( input, output, codes )
FILE *input;
BIT_FILE *output;
CODE *codes;
{
     int c;

     while ( ( c = getc( input ) ) != EOF )
          OutputBits( output, (unsigned long) codes[ c ].code,
                      codes[ c ].code_bits );
     OutputBits( output, (unsigned long) codes[ END_OF_STREAM ].code,
                          codes[ END_OF_STREAM ].code_bits );
}
/*

* Expanding compressed data is a little harder than the compression
* phase.  As each new symbol is decoded, the tree is traversed,
* starting at the root node, reading a bit in, and taking either the
* child_0 or child_1 path.  Eventually, the tree winds down to a
* leaf node, and the corresponding symbol is output.  If the symbol
* is the END_OF_STREAM symbol, it doesn't get written out, and
* instead the whole process terminates.
*/
void expand_data( input, output, nodes, root_node )
BIT_FILE *input;
FILE *output;
NODE *nodes;
int root_node;
{
     int node;

     for ( ; ; ) {
         node = root_node;
         do {
              if ( InputBit( input ) )
                   node = nodes[ node ].child_1;
              else
                   node = nodes[ node ].child_0;
         } while ( node . END_OF_STREAM );
         if ( node == END_OF_STREAM )
              break;
         if ( ( putc( node, output ) ) != node )
              fatal_error( "Error trying to write byte to output" );
     }
}
/******************************End of HUFF.C***************************/


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