Geek: fast arithmetic entropy encoding...

Geek: fast arithmetic entropy encoding...  This post, on finite state entropy encoding for lossless data compression, caught my eye for two reasons.  First, I have a general interest in data compression.  Secondly, the approach the author took has the same objectives as the decimal number formatting and parsing project I'm currently working on – accomplishing its job entirely with additions, shifts, and masks (no multiplies and especially no divides)...