Chris@4: .TH ZLIB 3 "2 May 2012"
Chris@4: .SH NAME
Chris@4: zlib \- compression/decompression library
Chris@4: .SH SYNOPSIS
Chris@4: [see
Chris@4: .I zlib.h
Chris@4: for full description]
Chris@4: .SH DESCRIPTION
Chris@4: The
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: library is a general purpose data compression library.
Chris@4: The code is thread safe, assuming that the standard library functions
Chris@4: used are thread safe, such as memory allocation routines.
Chris@4: It provides in-memory compression and decompression functions,
Chris@4: including integrity checks of the uncompressed data.
Chris@4: This version of the library supports only one compression method (deflation)
Chris@4: but other algorithms may be added later
Chris@4: with the same stream interface.
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: Compression can be done in a single step if the buffers are large enough
Chris@4: or can be done by repeated calls of the compression function.
Chris@4: In the latter case,
Chris@4: the application must provide more input and/or consume the output
Chris@4: (providing more output space) before each call.
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: The library also supports reading and writing files in
Chris@4: .IR gzip (1)
Chris@4: (.gz) format
Chris@4: with an interface similar to that of stdio.
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: The library does not install any signal handler.
Chris@4: The decoder checks the consistency of the compressed data,
Chris@4: so the library should never crash even in the case of corrupted input.
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: All functions of the compression library are documented in the file
Chris@4: .IR zlib.h .
Chris@4: The distribution source includes examples of use of the library
Chris@4: in the files
Chris@4: .I test/example.c
Chris@4: and
Chris@4: .IR test/minigzip.c,
Chris@4: as well as other examples in the
Chris@4: .IR examples/
Chris@4: directory.
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: Changes to this version are documented in the file
Chris@4: .I ChangeLog
Chris@4: that accompanies the source.
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: is available in Java using the java.util.zip package:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Programming/compression/
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: A Perl interface to
Chris@4: .IR zlib ,
Chris@4: written by Paul Marquess (pmqs@cpan.org),
Chris@4: is available at CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network) sites,
Chris@4: including:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://search.cpan.org/~pmqs/IO-Compress-Zlib/
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: A Python interface to
Chris@4: .IR zlib ,
Chris@4: written by A.M. Kuchling (amk@magnet.com),
Chris@4: is available in Python 1.5 and later versions:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://docs.python.org/library/zlib.html
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: is built into
Chris@4: .IR tcl:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://wiki.tcl.tk/4610
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: An experimental package to read and write files in .zip format,
Chris@4: written on top of
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: by Gilles Vollant (info@winimage.com),
Chris@4: is available at:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://www.winimage.com/zLibDll/minizip.html
Chris@4: and also in the
Chris@4: .I contrib/minizip
Chris@4: directory of the main
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: source distribution.
Chris@4: .SH "SEE ALSO"
Chris@4: The
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: web site can be found at:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://zlib.net/
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: The data format used by the zlib library is described by RFC
Chris@4: (Request for Comments) 1950 to 1952 in the files:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1950 (for the zlib header and trailer format)
Chris@4: .br
Chris@4: http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1951 (for the deflate compressed data format)
Chris@4: .br
Chris@4: http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1952 (for the gzip header and trailer format)
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: Mark Nelson wrote an article about
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: for the Jan. 1997 issue of  Dr. Dobb's Journal;
Chris@4: a copy of the article is available at:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://marknelson.us/1997/01/01/zlib-engine/
Chris@4: .SH "REPORTING PROBLEMS"
Chris@4: Before reporting a problem,
Chris@4: please check the
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: web site to verify that you have the latest version of
Chris@4: .IR zlib ;
Chris@4: otherwise,
Chris@4: obtain the latest version and see if the problem still exists.
Chris@4: Please read the
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: FAQ at:
Chris@4: .IP
Chris@4: http://zlib.net/zlib_faq.html
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: before asking for help.
Chris@4: Send questions and/or comments to zlib@gzip.org,
Chris@4: or (for the Windows DLL version) to Gilles Vollant (info@winimage.com).
Chris@4: .SH AUTHORS
Chris@4: Version 1.2.7
Chris@4: Copyright (C) 1995-2012 Jean-loup Gailly (jloup@gzip.org)
Chris@4: and Mark Adler (madler@alumni.caltech.edu).
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: This software is provided "as-is,"
Chris@4: without any express or implied warranty.
Chris@4: In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
Chris@4: arising from the use of this software.
Chris@4: See the distribution directory with respect to requirements
Chris@4: governing redistribution.
Chris@4: The deflate format used by
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: was defined by Phil Katz.
Chris@4: The deflate and
Chris@4: .I zlib
Chris@4: specifications were written by L. Peter Deutsch.
Chris@4: Thanks to all the people who reported problems and suggested various
Chris@4: improvements in
Chris@4: .IR zlib ;
Chris@4: who are too numerous to cite here.
Chris@4: .LP
Chris@4: UNIX manual page by R. P. C. Rodgers,
Chris@4: U.S. National Library of Medicine (rodgers@nlm.nih.gov).
Chris@4: .\" end of man page