Although this has been said, it hasn't been explained:
The difference between using a field with a max of 128 and a max of 256 is only one bit, not 4. For those not yet versed in binary, that is to say: for 87654321
bit positionplace value
11
22
34
48
516
632
764
8128

Now, shortening it to 7 bits would give you a 1/8 compression at the expense of not allowing any data that uses the 8th bit. I regard this as a mistake, because it can cause all kinds of problems, re: SMTP, AIX /dev/tty*

As an aside, this data set will probably be too short to get a decent compression because of different sorts of overhead. Maybe this is a creative use for freeze/thaw??? (that's from Storable).

Update: 2 Mins later: Ah, I am aware that the OP wanted code reduction, not compression. Well, ignore the last of my ramblings.

mhoward - at - hattmoward.org

In reply to Re: Re: pack unpack charcount repetition by meredith
in thread pack unpack charcount repetition by denthijs

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