Optimal Prefix Free Code in Linear Time
Abstract
We describe an algorithm computing an optimal prefix free code from N unsorted positive integer weights in time linear in the number of machine words holding those weights. This algorithm takes advantage of common non-algebraic instructions, and of specific results on optimal prefix free codes. This result improves over the state of the art complexities of O(N N) in the algebraic decision tree model and O(N N) in the RAM model for the computation of Huffman's codes, a landmark in compression and coding since 1952.
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