How exactly do you compromise data?

Question

So for example then I download a game in Steam, I download like 40Gb but it takes 60Gb of storage. Where do those 20Gb come from?

In: 1

Answer 1

I assume you mean compress data ?

There’s many ways to different way to compress data, most of them revolve around replacing raw data with information ABOUT that data, that will allow the computer to recreate it.

To take a very basic exemple, if you want to describe the US flag, you can either :

* describe every pixel one by one and line by line ( Blue/Blue/White/Blue….etc)
* describe it as [White background + 7 x red stripes + Blue square + 50 white stars]

The second option will take “less space” but in exchange the computer has to work more to recreate it, and understand what is a “stripe”, etc…