concise summary of the changes from the original repository to the fork:

1. Improved type hinting and code structure in the HuffmanCoding class.

2. Enhanced file handling with with statements for better resource management.

3. Implemented more efficient bit-level encoding and decoding processes (this is the resolve for this issue on the original repo).

   • Bit-level encoding:
   • The new version processes bits directly instead of creating a long binary string.
   • It accumulates bits into bytes, writing them to the file as soon as 8 bits are collected.
   • This approach is more memory-efficient, especially for large files, as it doesn't need to hold the entire encoded data in memory.
   • Optimized decoding:

   • The decoder now reads one byte at a time and processes it bit by bit.

   • It builds up the Huffman code incrementally, checking against the character table after each bit.

   • This method is more efficient as it doesn't require storing the entire binary string in memory.

   • Reduced intermediate data structures:

   • The new implementation eliminates the need for intermediate string representations of binary data.

   • This reduction in data conversion and manipulation leads to faster processing and lower memory usage.

   • Direct byte manipulation:
   • The code now works directly with bytes and bit operations, which is generally faster than string manipulations.
   • It uses bitwise operations (shifting and masking) for efficient bit handling.
   • Streamlined file writing and reading:
   • The encoding process writes bytes as soon as they're ready, rather than accumulating all the data before writing.
   • The decoding process reads and processes the input file in smaller chunks, improving memory efficiency for large files.

4. Added a minimum file size check (100 bytes) before applying compression.

5. Refactored encode_file() and decode_file() methods for better performance.

6. Improved main script with clearer usage instructions and more informative output.

7. Added checks for compression effectiveness, reporting size increase if compression is unsuccessful.