A method and apparatus for symbol-space based compression of patterns are provided. The method comprises receiving an input sequence, the input sequence being of a first length and comprising a plurality of symbols; extracting all common patterns within the input sequence, wherein a common pattern includes at least two symbols; generating an output sequence responsive of the extraction of all common patterns, wherein the output sequence has a second length that is shorter than the first length; and storing in a memory the output sequence as a data layer, wherein the output sequence is provided as a new input sequence for a subsequent generation of a data layer.