.TH ZLIB 3 "18 July 2005" | |
.SH NAME | |
zlib \- compression/decompression library | |
.SH SYNOPSIS | |
[see | |
.I zlib.h | |
for full description] | |
.SH DESCRIPTION | |
The | |
.I zlib | |
library is a general purpose data compression library. | |
The code is thread safe. | |
It provides in-memory compression and decompression functions, | |
including integrity checks of the uncompressed data. | |
This version of the library supports only one compression method (deflation) | |
but other algorithms will be added later | |
and will have the same stream interface. | |
.LP | |
Compression can be done in a single step if the buffers are large enough | |
(for example if an input file is mmap'ed), | |
or can be done by repeated calls of the compression function. | |
In the latter case, | |
the application must provide more input and/or consume the output | |
(providing more output space) before each call. | |
.LP | |
The library also supports reading and writing files in | |
.IR gzip (1) | |
(.gz) format | |
with an interface similar to that of stdio. | |
.LP | |
The library does not install any signal handler. | |
The decoder checks the consistency of the compressed data, | |
so the library should never crash even in case of corrupted input. | |
.LP | |
All functions of the compression library are documented in the file | |
.IR zlib.h . | |
The distribution source includes examples of use of the library | |
in the files | |
.I example.c | |
and | |
.IR minigzip.c . | |
.LP | |
Changes to this version are documented in the file | |
.I ChangeLog | |
that accompanies the source, | |
and are concerned primarily with bug fixes and portability enhancements. | |
.LP | |
A Java implementation of | |
.I zlib | |
is available in the Java Development Kit 1.1: | |
.IP | |
http://www.javasoft.com/products/JDK/1.1/docs/api/Package-java.util.zip.html | |
.LP | |
A Perl interface to | |
.IR zlib , | |
written by Paul Marquess (pmqs@cpan.org), | |
is available at CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network) sites, | |
including: | |
.IP | |
http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/Compress/ | |
.LP | |
A Python interface to | |
.IR zlib , | |
written by A.M. Kuchling (amk@magnet.com), | |
is available in Python 1.5 and later versions: | |
.IP | |
http://www.python.org/doc/lib/module-zlib.html | |
.LP | |
A | |
.I zlib | |
binding for | |
.IR tcl (1), | |
written by Andreas Kupries (a.kupries@westend.com), | |
is availlable at: | |
.IP | |
http://www.westend.com/~kupries/doc/trf/man/man.html | |
.LP | |
An experimental package to read and write files in .zip format, | |
written on top of | |
.I zlib | |
by Gilles Vollant (info@winimage.com), | |
is available at: | |
.IP | |
http://www.winimage.com/zLibDll/unzip.html | |
and also in the | |
.I contrib/minizip | |
directory of the main | |
.I zlib | |
web site. | |
.SH "SEE ALSO" | |
The | |
.I zlib | |
web site can be found at either of these locations: | |
.IP | |
http://www.zlib.org | |
.br | |
http://www.gzip.org/zlib/ | |
.LP | |
The data format used by the zlib library is described by RFC | |
(Request for Comments) 1950 to 1952 in the files: | |
.IP | |
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1950.txt (concerning zlib format) | |
.br | |
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1951.txt (concerning deflate format) | |
.br | |
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1952.txt (concerning gzip format) | |
.LP | |
These documents are also available in other formats from: | |
.IP | |
ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/png/documents/zlib/zdoc-index.html | |
.LP | |
Mark Nelson (markn@ieee.org) wrote an article about | |
.I zlib | |
for the Jan. 1997 issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal; | |
a copy of the article is available at: | |
.IP | |
http://dogma.net/markn/articles/zlibtool/zlibtool.htm | |
.SH "REPORTING PROBLEMS" | |
Before reporting a problem, | |
please check the | |
.I zlib | |
web site to verify that you have the latest version of | |
.IR zlib ; | |
otherwise, | |
obtain the latest version and see if the problem still exists. | |
Please read the | |
.I zlib | |
FAQ at: | |
.IP | |
http://www.gzip.org/zlib/zlib_faq.html | |
.LP | |
before asking for help. | |
Send questions and/or comments to zlib@gzip.org, | |
or (for the Windows DLL version) to Gilles Vollant (info@winimage.com). | |
.SH AUTHORS | |
Version 1.2.3 | |
Copyright (C) 1995-2005 Jean-loup Gailly (jloup@gzip.org) | |
and Mark Adler (madler@alumni.caltech.edu). | |
.LP | |
This software is provided "as-is," | |
without any express or implied warranty. | |
In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages | |
arising from the use of this software. | |
See the distribution directory with respect to requirements | |
governing redistribution. | |
The deflate format used by | |
.I zlib | |
was defined by Phil Katz. | |
The deflate and | |
.I zlib | |
specifications were written by L. Peter Deutsch. | |
Thanks to all the people who reported problems and suggested various | |
improvements in | |
.IR zlib ; | |
who are too numerous to cite here. | |
.LP | |
UNIX manual page by R. P. C. Rodgers, | |
U.S. National Library of Medicine (rodgers@nlm.nih.gov). | |
.\" end of man page |