Zip compression (LZ)

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Who

Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv, Israeli computer scientists at the Technion in Haifa.

When

1977–1978

Where

Technion, Haifa, Israel

The LZ77 and LZ78 algorithms, published by Israeli researchers Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv, are the foundation of lossless data compression. Their work underlies the ZIP, GIF and PNG formats and is used in nearly every modem and computer, allowing digital files to be stored and sent efficiently.

Sources

Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.