http://qs321.pair.com?node_id=11121865


in reply to Losing Bits with Pack/Unpack

I believe I can squeeze 3 8-bit ascii characters into a single 20-bit unicode character

No, you can't.

If you want to store more bits in a limited storage area than that storage area allows, you need compression, either lossy or lossless. Just shifting bits around won't help.

Alexander

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Today I will gladly share my knowledge and experience, for there are no sweeter words than "I told you so". ;-)