Run-length encoding is based on the idea of breaking data up into runs of identical elements of varying lengths. Another common approach to data compression is based on forming blocks of fixed length, and then representing whatever distinct blocks occur by specific codewords.

The pictures below show a few examples of how this works. In each case the input is taken to be broken into blocks of length 3. In the first two cases, there are then only two distinct blocks that occur, so each of these can be represented by a codeword consisting of a single cell, with the result that substantial compression is achieved.

Examples of Huffman coding based on blocks of length 3. In cases (a) and (b), only two possible blocks occur, and these are assigned codewords consisting of a single black cell and a single white cell. In case (c), 3 possible blocks occur; the most common is assigned a codeword consisting of a single white cell, while the others are assigned codewords consisting of two cells. In case (d) 4 out of the 8 possible blocks occur, while in case (e) 6 occur. In all cases, the output begins with a preamble specifying which block is to be represented by which codeword. The blocks appear explicitly in this preamble, and are indicated by numbered tabs. The codewords are represented implicitly by the arrangement of cells shown with arrows. The preamble is followed by the actual codewords representing the data. The codewords are self-delimiting, so that they can be given one after another, with no separator in between.