Re: alternative compression algorithms?

On 04/19/2015 11:51 PM, Tomas Vondra wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> in the past we've repeatedly discussed the option of using a different
> compression algorithm (e.g. lz4), but every time the discussion died off
> because of fear of possible patent issues [1] [2] and many other
> threads. Have we decided it's not worth the risks, making patches in
> this area futile?
> ...
> I'm a bit confused though, because I've noticed various other FOSS
> projects adopting lz4 over the past few years and I'm yet to find a
> project voicing the same concerns about patents. So either they're
> reckless or we're excessively paranoid.

IMHO we should switch to a different algorithm. Wrt patents, if we
choose an algorithm that's already used widely in several other open
source projects, that's safe enough. It's as safe as we're going to get.

There is always the chance that you infringe on a patent when you write
any code. Compression is a particularly heavily-patented field, but it's
nevertheless a bit strange to be super-paranoid there, and not worry
about patents elsewhere. (The safest option would be to pick an
algorithm that was patented, but the patent has expired. I don't think
any of the compression algorithms discussed recently are old enough for
that, though.)

- Heikki