3rdparty/zlib/zlib.3

0001 .TH ZLIB 3 "28 Apr 2013"
0002 .SH NAME
0003 zlib \- compression/decompression library
0004 .SH SYNOPSIS
0005 [see
0006 .I zlib.h
0007 for full description]
0008 .SH DESCRIPTION
0009 The
0010 .I zlib
0011 library is a general purpose data compression library.
0012 The code is thread safe, assuming that the standard library functions
0013 used are thread safe, such as memory allocation routines.
0014 It provides in-memory compression and decompression functions,
0015 including integrity checks of the uncompressed data.
0016 This version of the library supports only one compression method (deflation)
0017 but other algorithms may be added later
0018 with the same stream interface.
0019 .LP
0020 Compression can be done in a single step if the buffers are large enough
0021 or can be done by repeated calls of the compression function.
0022 In the latter case,
0023 the application must provide more input and/or consume the output
0024 (providing more output space) before each call.
0025 .LP
0026 The library also supports reading and writing files in
0027 .IR gzip (1)
0028 (.gz) format
0029 with an interface similar to that of stdio.
0030 .LP
0031 The library does not install any signal handler.
0032 The decoder checks the consistency of the compressed data,
0033 so the library should never crash even in the case of corrupted input.
0034 .LP
0035 All functions of the compression library are documented in the file
0036 .IR zlib.h .
0037 The distribution source includes examples of use of the library
0038 in the files
0039 .I test/example.c
0040 and
0041 .IR test/minigzip.c,
0042 as well as other examples in the
0043 .IR examples/
0044 directory.
0045 .LP
0046 Changes to this version are documented in the file
0047 .I ChangeLog
0048 that accompanies the source.
0049 .LP
0050 .I zlib
0051 is available in Java using the java.util.zip package:
0052 .IP
0053 http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Programming/compression/
0054 .LP
0055 A Perl interface to
0056 .IR zlib ,
0057 written by Paul Marquess (pmqs@cpan.org),
0058 is available at CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network) sites,
0059 including:
0060 .IP
0061 http://search.cpan.org/~pmqs/IO-Compress-Zlib/
0062 .LP
0063 A Python interface to
0064 .IR zlib ,
0065 written by A.M. Kuchling (amk@magnet.com),
0066 is available in Python 1.5 and later versions:
0067 .IP
0068 http://docs.python.org/library/zlib.html
0069 .LP
0070 .I zlib
0071 is built into
0072 .IR tcl:
0073 .IP
0074 http://wiki.tcl.tk/4610
0075 .LP
0076 An experimental package to read and write files in .zip format,
0077 written on top of
0078 .I zlib
0079 by Gilles Vollant (info@winimage.com),
0080 is available at:
0081 .IP
0082 http://www.winimage.com/zLibDll/minizip.html
0083 and also in the
0084 .I contrib/minizip
0085 directory of the main
0086 .I zlib
0087 source distribution.
0088 .SH "SEE ALSO"
0089 The
0090 .I zlib
0091 web site can be found at:
0092 .IP
0093 http://zlib.net/
0094 .LP
0095 The data format used by the zlib library is described by RFC
0096 (Request for Comments) 1950 to 1952 in the files:
0097 .IP
0098 http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1950 (for the zlib header and trailer format)
0099 .br
0100 http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1951 (for the deflate compressed data format)
0101 .br
0102 http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1952 (for the gzip header and trailer format)
0103 .LP
0104 Mark Nelson wrote an article about
0105 .I zlib
0106 for the Jan. 1997 issue of  Dr. Dobb's Journal;
0107 a copy of the article is available at:
0108 .IP
0109 http://marknelson.us/1997/01/01/zlib-engine/
0110 .SH "REPORTING PROBLEMS"
0111 Before reporting a problem,
0112 please check the
0113 .I zlib
0114 web site to verify that you have the latest version of
0115 .IR zlib ;
0116 otherwise,
0117 obtain the latest version and see if the problem still exists.
0118 Please read the
0119 .I zlib
0120 FAQ at:
0121 .IP
0122 http://zlib.net/zlib_faq.html
0123 .LP
0124 before asking for help.
0125 Send questions and/or comments to zlib@gzip.org,
0126 or (for the Windows DLL version) to Gilles Vollant (info@winimage.com).
0127 .SH AUTHORS
0128 Version 1.2.8
0129 Copyright (C) 1995-2013 Jean-loup Gailly (jloup@gzip.org)
0130 and Mark Adler (madler@alumni.caltech.edu).
0131 .LP
0132 This software is provided "as-is,"
0133 without any express or implied warranty.
0134 In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages
0135 arising from the use of this software.
0136 See the distribution directory with respect to requirements
0137 governing redistribution.
0138 The deflate format used by
0139 .I zlib
0140 was defined by Phil Katz.
0141 The deflate and
0142 .I zlib
0143 specifications were written by L. Peter Deutsch.
0144 Thanks to all the people who reported problems and suggested various
0145 improvements in
0146 .IR zlib ;
0147 who are too numerous to cite here.
0148 .LP
0149 UNIX manual page by R. P. C. Rodgers,
0150 U.S. National Library of Medicine (rodgers@nlm.nih.gov).
0151 .\" end of man page