Shannon's source coding theorem (source code)

= Shannon's source coding theorem
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= Shannon source coding theorem
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= Shannon noiseless coding theorem
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For a discrete memoryless source of entropy $H$, every uniquely decodable binary code has expected length at least $H$. Shannon code lengths satisfy $H\leq\overline\ell<H+1$, and block coding can make the expected length per source symbol arbitrarily close to $H$.