AbstractMany methods have been suggested for representing text for storage on magnetic media or for transmission down telecommunication channels with fewer bits then are required by a conventional fixed‐length character representation. These methods are reviewed, and attention is drawn to the advantages of techniques in which variable‐length character strings are represented by a fixed number of bits. Such techniques are described in more detail. The advantages and disadvantages of implementing text compression in storage and telecommunications are discussed, and an indication is given of the types of hardware which may be used. The extent to which text may be compressed with the methods discussed, and approximate timings, are sta