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New Binary Diffing Algorithm Announced By Google

Posted by timothy on from the smartness-and-light dept.

bheer writes "Today Google's Open-Source Chromium project announced a new compression technique called Courgette geared towards distributing really small updates. Courgette achieves smaller diffs (about 9x in one example) than standard binary-diffing algorithms like bsdiff by disassembling the code and sending the assembler diffs over the wire. This, the Chromium devs say, will allow them to send smaller, more frequent updates, making users more secure. Since this will be released as open source, it should make distributing updates a lot easier for the open-source community."

8 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    can suck my diff!

  2. Microsoft version? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Any takers that Microsoft will release their own version of this, but compile the assembly before sending it over the wire?

    Maybe they can call it "Compiled Assembly from Disassembly" (CAD).

  3. Today? by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 3, Funny

    Google's Open-Source Chromium project announced a new compression technique called Courgette geared towards distributing really small updates today.

    Better hurry! It won't work tomorrow!

    --
    Comment of the year
  4. Re:Bad explanation by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can compress any document, down to a single but,

    Oh crap. There goes any chance of this being a technical discussion.

  5. Re:dictionary by MrMr · · Score: 2, Funny

    Stoopid Brits,
    Because the Americans pronounce the Italian word Zucchini flawlessly.

  6. Re:dictionary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    A faggot?

  7. Re:Can a layman get an explanation in English? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Everything except "capiche", yeah.

  8. Re:Bad explanation by CarpetShark · · Score: 2, Funny

    return = get_Magna_Carta_text()
    return unzip(compressed_data[1:]

    Most of your point is good, but I suspect that, no matter what language you're using, ONE of these will give you a syntax error ;)