LZMA
LZMA is the Lempel-Ziv plus range coding algorithm Igor Pavlov created for 7z, using a large dictionary and sophisticated probability models to compress better than bzip2.
Purpose
It delivers high compression ratios at reasonable speeds, and is the core algorithm of 7z, XZ, and the LZMA SDK.
Mechanism
After LZ77 sliding-window matching (large dictionary plus repeated-match search), the (distance, length, literal) symbols are coded with a context-based binary range coder. Probability models update adaptively and are modeled independently per symbol type.
Use cases
- 7z / XZ formats
- High-ratio archiving
- Embedded firmware compression