Zstandard

Zstandard is a modern, real-time compression algorithm designed for speed and efficiency. It provides high compression ratios while featuring an extremely fast decoder, making it suitable for a wide range of applications from databases and file systems to network protocols.

Its performance and flexibility are its core strengths:

• High-Speed Operation: Benchmarks consistently show Zstandard outperforming older algorithms, offering much faster compression and significantly faster decompression.
• Tunable Compression: The algorithm offers a very wide range of speed-to-compression trade-offs. You can use negative levels (--fast) for maximum speed or dial up the level for stronger compression ratios, all while maintaining consistently fast decompression.
• Optimized for Small Data: A unique training mode allows you to generate a 'dictionary' from sample data. Using this dictionary dramatically improves compression ratios and speed on small files or records, a common challenge for other algorithms.
• Rich API and Language Support: Zstandard provides a comprehensive API and has been widely adopted, with bindings and ports available for dozens of programming languages, including Python, Rust, Java, Go, and C#.