A Fast and Effective Golomb Code with Asymmetric Numerical System

This paper presents the Golomb-ANS code, an advanced coding scheme that combines Golomb coding with the asymmetric numerical system (ANS). Golomb code is known for its computational simplicity, while ANS is recognized for its coding efficiency. The Golomb-ANS code capitalizes on the advantages of both methods to create an innovative encoding solution. The main breakthrough lies in utilizing Golomb code's distinctive property, where the probability of encountering a '0' in the suffix remains stable under a specific distribution. This characteristic simplifies the ANS component of Golomb-ANS into a finite state machine, significantly reducing coding complexity. To illustrate the practical benefits of Golomb-ANS, experiments were conducted by replacing Golomb-Rice code with Golomb-ANS in the JPEG-LS and CCSDS 123.0.B image compression standards. The results demonstrated substantial improvements in average compression ratios, with increases of 0.641 % for JPEG-LS and 1.017% for CCSDS 123.0.B.