bbse 0.1.0

Backward Binary Search Encoding — minimal and deterministic scheme for sorted domains
Documentation

bbse — Backward Binary Search Encoding

bbse is a minimal and deterministic encoding scheme for values in a sorted integer range.
It encodes a target value as a binary decision path, following the steps of binary search.

This approach provides a prefix-free, compact, and reversible representation of values
from any [start, end) interval.

✨ Features

  • Prefix-free binary encoding for any sorted range
  • Simple, deterministic, and lossless
  • Suitable for compression, range indexing, embedded systems
  • No heap allocation (except for returned bitvector)

🚀 Example

use bbse::{encode, decode};

let bits = encode(0, 16, 5);        // e.g. [true, false, true]
let value = decode(0, 16, &bits);   // -> 5
assert_eq!(value, 5);

🎨 Use case: color encoding

The algorithm was originally inspired by the need to encode color deltas efficiently in an experimental lossless image format. Each delta channel (R/G/B) was encoded as a binary search path, taking advantage of sorted delta distributions.

This enabled compact per-channel encoding with minimal logic, without relying on entropy coding.

📦 Installation

[dependencies]
bbse = "0.1.0"

(Add this to your Cargo.toml after publication)

📄 License

MIT

🔬 Future extensions

  • Used in image codec prototype to encode color deltas via BBSE for predictable bit-length.