Determining optimal parameter for binary coding of a structured document

1. A method of binary coding of a structured document comprising at least a plurality of data items to code, the method comprising performing, by a computer, the steps of:

determining at least one first parameter of a first coding scheme, said first parameter being a coding length;

determining at least one second parameter of at least one second coding scheme according to said at least one first parameter of said first coding scheme, said first and said at least one second coding scheme being of the same type, wherein determining the second parameter comprises:

initializing a counting table with coding length values less than the first parameter;

counting a number of data items that can be respectively coded with each coding length value of the counting table;

evaluating a respective coding cost associated with each particular coding length value of the counting table, based on the number of items that can be coded with the respective coding length value; and

determining the second parameter as the coding length value associated with the smallest coding cost,

and wherein the method further comprises:

obtaining at least one item of data of said at least one plurality of data items;

evaluating a coding efficiency of said at least one item of data according to said first and said at least one second coding schemes, wherein the coding efficiency is based on the respective coding cost of coding said at least one item of data;

comparing said coding efficiency of said first and said at least one second coding schemes for coding said at least one item of data; and

coding said data item according to the at least one second coding scheme, if said data item can be coded more efficiently by said second coding scheme.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said first and said at least one second coding schemes are fixed-point coding schemes.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the coding length values are computed by decreasing the first parameter by predefined amounts.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein said amounts range from 2 to 7.

5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising a step of coding said second parameter.

6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising a step of pre-processing at least one item of data of said at least one plurality of data items to code.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a coding cost coding cost CL(i) for a coding length CL(i) is evaluated as:

coding cost CL(i) =NbAr CL(i) *( CL ( i )+2)+( NbTAr−NbAr CL(i) )*( CL first +2)

wherein:

NbTAr represents the number of data item to be coded,

NbAr CL(i) represents the number of data items that can be coded with the coding length CL(i), and

CL first is the first value of the coding length.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, in case said data item cannot be coded efficiently by said second coding scheme, the method further comprises the steps of:

detecting a repetition pattern concerning said data item; and

coding said data item by a pattern repetition scheme if the repetition pattern is detected.

9. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising coding said data item by the first coding scheme, in case the repetition pattern is not detected.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

decoding a value of the second parameter used for coding said data item with said-at least one second coding scheme; and,

decoding said at least one data item according to said at least one second parameter of said second coding scheme.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for binary coding of a structured document comprising a plurality of data items to code, the computer program comprising instructions executable by a computer for carrying out the steps of:

determining at least one first parameter of a first coding scheme, said first parameter being a coding length;

determining at least one second parameter of at least one second coding scheme according to said at least one first parameter of said first coding scheme, said first and said at least one second coding scheme being of the same type, wherein determining the second parameter comprises the following steps:

initializing a counting table with coding length values less than the first parameter;

counting a number of data items that can be respectively coded with each coding length value of the counting table;

evaluating a respective coding cost associated with each particular coding length value of the counting table, based on the number of items that can be coded with the respective coding length value; and

determining the second parameter as the coding length value associated with the smallest coding cost,

and wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for the steps of:

obtaining at least one item of data of said at least one plurality of data items;

evaluating a coding efficiency of said at least one item of data according to said first and said at least one second coding schemes, wherein the coding efficiency is based on the respective coding cost of coding said at least one item of data;

comparing said coding efficiency of said first and said at least one second coding schemes for coding said at least one item of data; and

coding said data item according to the at least one second coding scheme, if said data item can be coded more efficiently by said second coding scheme.

12. The storage medium according to claim 11 , the computer program further comprising instructions executable by the computer for carrying out the steps of:

decoding a value of the second parameter used for coding said data item with said at least one second coding scheme; and,

decoding said at least one data item according to said at least one second parameter of said second coding scheme.

13. A device for binary coding a structured document comprising at least a plurality of data items to code, the device comprising a computer for performing the steps of:

determining at least one first parameter of a first coding scheme, said first parameter being a coding length;

determining at least one second parameter of at least one second coding scheme according to said at least one first parameter of said first coding scheme, said first and said at least one second coding scheme being of the same type, wherein determining the second parameter comprises:

initializing a counting table with coding length values less than the first parameter;

counting a number of data items that can be respectively coded with each coding length value of the counting table;

evaluating a respective coding cost associated with each particular coding length value of the counting table, based on the number of items that can be coded with the respective coding length value; and

determining the second parameter as the coding length value associated with the smallest coding cost,

wherein the computer further performs the steps of:

obtaining at least one item of data of said at least one plurality of data items;

evaluating a coding efficiency of said at least one item of data according to said first and said at least one second coding schemes, wherein the coding efficiency is based on the respective coding cost of coding said at least one item of data;

comparing said coding efficiency of said first and said at least one second coding schemes for coding said at least one item of data; and

coding said data item according to the at least one second coding scheme, if said data item can be coded more efficiently by said second coding scheme.

14. The device according to claim 13 , wherein the computer further performs the steps of:

decoding a value of the second parameter used for coding said data item with said at least one second coding scheme; and,

decoding said at least one data item according to said at least one second parameter of said second coding scheme.