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1 | ZLIB DATA COMPRESSION LIBRARY |
2 | ||
772513d8 | 3 | zlib 1.2.8 is a general purpose data compression library. All the code is |
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4 | thread safe. The data format used by the zlib library is described by RFCs |
5 | (Request for Comments) 1950 to 1952 in the files | |
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6 | http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1950 (zlib format), rfc1951 (deflate format) and |
7 | rfc1952 (gzip format). | |
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8 | |
9 | All functions of the compression library are documented in the file zlib.h | |
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10 | (volunteer to write man pages welcome, contact zlib@gzip.org). A usage example |
11 | of the library is given in the file test/example.c which also tests that | |
12 | the library is working correctly. Another example is given in the file | |
13 | test/minigzip.c. The compression library itself is composed of all source | |
14 | files in the root directory. | |
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15 | |
16 | To compile all files and run the test program, follow the instructions given at | |
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17 | the top of Makefile.in. In short "./configure; make test", and if that goes |
18 | well, "make install" should work for most flavors of Unix. For Windows, use | |
19 | one of the special makefiles in win32/ or contrib/vstudio/ . For VMS, use | |
20 | make_vms.com. | |
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21 | |
22 | Questions about zlib should be sent to <zlib@gzip.org>, or to Gilles Vollant | |
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23 | <info@winimage.com> for the Windows DLL version. The zlib home page is |
24 | http://zlib.net/ . Before reporting a problem, please check this site to | |
25 | verify that you have the latest version of zlib; otherwise get the latest | |
26 | version and check whether the problem still exists or not. | |
21ea11a1 | 27 | |
772513d8 | 28 | PLEASE read the zlib FAQ http://zlib.net/zlib_faq.html before asking for help. |
e1c743cc | 29 | |
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30 | Mark Nelson <markn@ieee.org> wrote an article about zlib for the Jan. 1997 |
31 | issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal; a copy of the article is available at | |
32 | http://marknelson.us/1997/01/01/zlib-engine/ . | |
e1c743cc | 33 | |
772513d8 | 34 | The changes made in version 1.2.8 are documented in the file ChangeLog. |
c801d85f | 35 | |
772513d8 | 36 | Unsupported third party contributions are provided in directory contrib/ . |
c801d85f | 37 | |
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38 | zlib is available in Java using the java.util.zip package, documented at |
39 | http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Programming/compression/ . | |
c801d85f | 40 | |
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41 | A Perl interface to zlib written by Paul Marquess <pmqs@cpan.org> is available |
42 | at CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network) sites, including | |
43 | http://search.cpan.org/~pmqs/IO-Compress-Zlib/ . | |
c801d85f | 44 | |
a6285dc9 | 45 | A Python interface to zlib written by A.M. Kuchling <amk@amk.ca> is |
21ea11a1 | 46 | available in Python 1.5 and later versions, see |
772513d8 | 47 | http://docs.python.org/library/zlib.html . |
c801d85f | 48 | |
772513d8 | 49 | zlib is built into tcl: http://wiki.tcl.tk/4610 . |
c801d85f | 50 | |
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51 | An experimental package to read and write files in .zip format, written on top |
52 | of zlib by Gilles Vollant <info@winimage.com>, is available in the | |
53 | contrib/minizip directory of zlib. | |
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54 | |
55 | ||
56 | Notes for some targets: | |
57 | ||
21ea11a1 | 58 | - For Windows DLL versions, please see win32/DLL_FAQ.txt |
c801d85f | 59 | |
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60 | - For 64-bit Irix, deflate.c must be compiled without any optimization. With |
61 | -O, one libpng test fails. The test works in 32 bit mode (with the -n32 | |
62 | compiler flag). The compiler bug has been reported to SGI. | |
c801d85f | 63 | |
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64 | - zlib doesn't work with gcc 2.6.3 on a DEC 3000/300LX under OSF/1 2.1 it works |
65 | when compiled with cc. | |
c801d85f | 66 | |
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67 | - On Digital Unix 4.0D (formely OSF/1) on AlphaServer, the cc option -std1 is |
68 | necessary to get gzprintf working correctly. This is done by configure. | |
c801d85f | 69 | |
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70 | - zlib doesn't work on HP-UX 9.05 with some versions of /bin/cc. It works with |
71 | other compilers. Use "make test" to check your compiler. | |
c801d85f | 72 | |
772513d8 | 73 | - gzdopen is not supported on RISCOS or BEOS. |
c801d85f | 74 | |
21ea11a1 | 75 | - For PalmOs, see http://palmzlib.sourceforge.net/ |
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76 | |
77 | ||
78 | Acknowledgments: | |
79 | ||
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80 | The deflate format used by zlib was defined by Phil Katz. The deflate and |
81 | zlib specifications were written by L. Peter Deutsch. Thanks to all the | |
82 | people who reported problems and suggested various improvements in zlib; they | |
83 | are too numerous to cite here. | |
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84 | |
85 | Copyright notice: | |
86 | ||
772513d8 | 87 | (C) 1995-2013 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler |
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88 | |
89 | This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied | |
90 | warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages | |
91 | arising from the use of this software. | |
92 | ||
93 | Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose, | |
94 | including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it | |
95 | freely, subject to the following restrictions: | |
96 | ||
97 | 1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not | |
98 | claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software | |
99 | in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be | |
100 | appreciated but is not required. | |
101 | 2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be | |
102 | misrepresented as being the original software. | |
103 | 3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution. | |
104 | ||
105 | Jean-loup Gailly Mark Adler | |
106 | jloup@gzip.org madler@alumni.caltech.edu | |
107 | ||
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108 | If you use the zlib library in a product, we would appreciate *not* receiving |
109 | lengthy legal documents to sign. The sources are provided for free but without | |
110 | warranty of any kind. The library has been entirely written by Jean-loup | |
111 | Gailly and Mark Adler; it does not include third-party code. | |
c801d85f | 112 | |
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113 | If you redistribute modified sources, we would appreciate that you include in |
114 | the file ChangeLog history information documenting your changes. Please read | |
115 | the FAQ for more information on the distribution of modified source versions. |