Data compression is a crucial technique in modern computing. Whether you are managing databases, optimizing web applications, or handling large-scale media streaming, compression helps reduce storage costs, improve performance, and minimize network bandwidth usage.

For example, consider a video streaming platform like Netflix. Without efficient compression, streaming a high-resolution video would consume excessive bandwidth, leading to buffering issues and increased infrastructure costs. Similarly, large-scale log storage systems need compression to keep costs manageable while maintaining quick access to historical data.

This article will cover:

• Why data compression is important
• Lossless vs. lossy compression
• Real-world use cases
• Popular compression algorithms
• Implementation examples in Python and SQL

1. What is Data Compression?