NAME

       zlib - compression/decompression library

SYNOPSIS

       [see zlib.h for full description]

DESCRIPTION

       The  zlib  library is a general purpose data compression library.  The code is thread safe, assuming that
       the standard library functions used are thread safe, such as memory allocation routines.  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 may  be
       added later with the same stream interface.

       Compression can be done in a single step if the buffers are large enough 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.

       The  library also supports reading and writing files in gzip(1) (.gz) format with an interface similar to
       that of stdio.

       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 the case of corrupted input.

       All  functions  of  the  compression  library are documented in the file zlib.h.  The distribution source
       includes examples of use of the library in the files test/example.c and test/minigzip.c, as well as other
       examples in the examples/ directory.

       Changes to this version are documented in the file ChangeLog that accompanies the source.

       zlib is available in Java using the java.util.zip package:

              http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Programming/compression/

       A  Perl  interface to zlib, written by Paul Marquess (pmqs@cpan.org), is available at CPAN (Comprehensive
       Perl Archive Network) sites, including:

              http://search.cpan.org/~pmqs/IO-Compress-Zlib/

       A Python interface to zlib, written by A.M. Kuchling (amk@magnet.com), is available  in  Python  1.5  and
       later versions:

              http://docs.python.org/library/zlib.html

       zlib is built into tcl:

              http://wiki.tcl.tk/4610

       An  experimental package to read and write files in .zip format, written on top of zlib by Gilles Vollant
       (info@winimage.com), is available at:

              http://www.winimage.com/zLibDll/minizip.html and also in the contrib/minizip directory of the main
              zlib source distribution.

SEE ALSO

       The zlib web site can be found at:

              http://zlib.net/

       The  data  format used by the zlib library is described by RFC (Request for Comments) 1950 to 1952 in the
       files:

              http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1950 (for the zlib header and trailer format)
              http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1951 (for the deflate compressed data format)
              http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1952 (for the gzip header and trailer format)

       Mark Nelson wrote an article about zlib for the Jan. 1997 issue of  Dr. Dobb's Journal;  a  copy  of  the
       article is available at:

              http://marknelson.us/1997/01/01/zlib-engine/

REPORTING PROBLEMS

       Before  reporting a problem, please check the zlib web site to verify that you have the latest version of
       zlib; otherwise, obtain the latest version and see if the problem still exists.  Please read the zlib FAQ
       at:

              http://zlib.net/zlib_faq.html

       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).

AUTHORS

       Version  1.2.8   Copyright   (C)   1995-2013   Jean-loup   Gailly   (jloup@gzip.org)   and   Mark   Adler
       (madler@alumni.caltech.edu).

       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 zlib was defined by
       Phil Katz.  The deflate and zlib specifications were written by L. Peter  Deutsch.   Thanks  to  all  the
       people  who  reported  problems  and suggested various improvements in zlib; who are too numerous to cite
       here.

       UNIX manual page by R. P. C. Rodgers, U.S. National Library of Medicine (rodgers@nlm.nih.gov).

                                                   28 Apr 2013                                           ZLIB(3)