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ZLIB(3)								       ZLIB(3)

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 con-
       sume 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/com-
	      pression/

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

	      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 war-
       ranty.  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)

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | SEE ALSO | REPORTING PROBLEMS | AUTHORS

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