Implementing in-memory compression for objects in Java

Question

We have this use case where we would like to compress and store objects (in-memory) and decompress them as and when required.

The data we want to compress is quite

Answer 1

Similar to previous answers, except I suggest you use DeflatorOutputStream and InflatorInputStream as these are simpler/faster/smaller than the alternatives. The reason it is smaller is it just does the compression whereas the alternatives add file format extensions like CRC checks and headers.

If size is important, you might like to have a simple serialization of your own. This is because ObjectOutputStream has a significant overhead making small objects much larger. (It improves for larger object especially when compressed)

e.g. an Integer takes 81 byte, and compression won't help much for such a small number of bytes. It is possible to cut this significantly.