Comparison

            Version
Symbol     1       2
 a (5)     0       0
 b (2)     10      111
 r (2)     111     110
 k (1)     1101    101
 d (1)     1100    100

Coding Version 1
   a b  r   a k    a d    a b  r   a
   0 10 111 0 1101 0 1100 0 10 111 0
   -> 23 bit

Coding Version 2
   a b   r   a k   a d   a b   r   a
   0 111 110 0 101 0 100 0 111 110 0
   -> 23 bit

Despite the different individual code lengths the same total length is the result for the sum of the encoded data. Both methods can be used equally with regard to the compression rate.

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