One example method includes receiving a mixed data stream that was created using a first data stream and a second data stream, the mixed data stream having a compressibility of N, where N is a compressibility merging parameter, and the mixed data stream has a compressibility that is between a compressibility of the first data stream and a compressibility of the second data stream, providing the mixed data stream to an application and/or hardware, observing and recording a response of the application and/or hardware to the mixed data stream, and analyzing the response of the response of the application and/or hardware to the mixed data stream.

Entropy agnostic data encoding includes: receiving, by an encoder, input data including a bit string; generating a plurality of candidate codewords, including encoding the input data bit string with a plurality of binary vectors, wherein the plurality of binary vectors includes a set of deterministic biased binary vectors and a set of random binary vectors; selecting, in dependence upon a predefined criteria, one of the plurality of candidate codewords; and transmitting the selected candidate codeword to a decoder.

Entropy agnostic data encoding includes: receiving, by an encoder, input data including a bit string; generating a plurality of candidate codewords, including encoding the input data bit string with a plurality of binary vectors, wherein the plurality of binary vectors includes a set of deterministic biased binary vectors and a set of random binary vectors; selecting, in dependence upon a predefined criteria, one of the plurality of candidate codewords; and transmitting the selected candidate codeword to a decoder.

Entropy agnostic data encoding includes: receiving, by an encoder, input data including a bit string; generating a plurality of candidate codewords, including encoding the input data bit string with a plurality of binary vectors, wherein the plurality of binary vectors includes a set of deterministic biased binary vectors and a set of random binary vectors; selecting, in dependence upon a predefined criteria, one of the plurality of candidate codewords; and transmitting the selected candidate codeword to a decoder.

Techniques for compressing binary input data streams and files by reducing entropy of the input data prior to compression. Entropy reduction is achieved by first getting a stream of single-digit decimal pseudo random numbers and calculating the frequency of occurrence of each decimal number in the even and odd positions of the pseudo random number stream. Subsets of the frequencies of occurrence of the decimal digits are selected to best match the frequency of occurrence of 0 and 1 in the odd and even positions of the binary input data stream. The decimal digits of the subsets of frequencies of occurrence are selectively set to 0 or 1 thereby creating a binary pseudo random number (i.e. mapping) stream, which is XORed with the binary input stream and compressed. Decompression uses the same pseudo random number stream using the mapping stream and the seed number used during compression.

An electronic device for compressing sampled data comprises a memory element and a processing element. The memory element is configured to store sampled data points and sampled times. The processing element is in electronic communication with the memory element and is configured to receive a plurality of sampled data points, a slope for each sampled data point in succession, the slope being a value of a change between the sampled data point and its successive sampled data point, and store the sampled data point in the memory element when the slope changes in value from a previous sampled data point.

Decomposing a value range of the respective syntax elements into a sequence of n partitions with coding the components of z laying within the respective partitions separately with at least one by VLC coding and with at least one by PIPE or entropy coding is used to greatly increase the compression efficiency at a moderate coding overhead since the coding scheme used may be better adapted to the syntax element statistics. Accordingly, syntax elements are decomposed into a respective number n of source symbols s.sub.i with i=1 . . . n, the respective number n of source symbols depending on as to which of a sequence of n partitions into which a value range of the respective syntax elements is sub-divided, a value z of the respective syntax elements falls into, so that a sum of values of the respective number of source symbols s.sub.i yields z, and, if n>1, for all i=1 . . . n1, the value of s.sub.i corresponds to a range of the i.sup.th partition.

A computer-implemented method of encrypting a data object of variable size utilizing an inner encryption algorithm can take a variable size input and of outputting, as its output, an encrypted version of the variable size input. The method comprises compressing or encoding the data object in its totality to obtain a compressed or encoded version of the data object in a format compatible with the inner encryption algorithm, encrypting, by the inner encryption algorithm, the compressed or encoded version of the data object to obtain an encrypted version of the data object, and decompressing or decoding the encrypted version of the data object to obtain a decompressed or decoded version of the encrypted version of the data object, which constitutes a format-preserved encrypted version of the data object.

Decomposing a value range of the respective syntax elements into a sequence of n partitions with coding the components of z laying within the respective partitions separately with at least one by VLC coding and with at least one by PIPE or entropy coding is used to greatly increase the compression efficiency at a moderate coding overhead since the coding scheme used may be better adapted to the syntax element statistics. Accordingly, syntax elements are decomposed into a respective number n of source symbols s.sub.i with i=1 . . . n, the respective number n of source symbols depending on as to which of a sequence of n partitions into which a value range of the respective syntax elements is sub-divided, a value z of the respective syntax elements falls into, so that a sum of values of the respective number of source symbols s.sub.i yields z, and, if n>1, for all i=1 . . . n1, the value of s.sub.i corresponds to a range of the i.sup.th partition.

Machine logic (for example, software) for compressing the image of an instance of a VM/container during time period(s) when the VM/container instance is inactive. A proxy is used to handle requests made to the VM/container instance during periods when it is inactive. A dependency graph is used to determine that a related set of instances of VM/containers so that: (i) when one of the VM/container instances of the related set is deactivated, then the whole set of VM/container instances are deactivated together; and/or (ii) when one of the VM/container instances of the related set is reactivated, then the whole set of VM/container instances are reactivated together.