ZLIB DATA COMPRESSION LIBRARY zlib 1.2.8 is a general purpose data compression library. All the code is thread safe. The data format used by the zlib library is described by RFCs (Request for Comments) 1950 to 1952 in the files http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1950.txt (zlib format), rfc1951.txt (deflate format) and rfc1952.txt (gzip format). All functions of the compression library are documented in the file zlib.h (volunteer to write man pages welcome, contact zlib@gzip.org). Two compiled examples are distributed in this package, example and minigzip. The example_d and minigzip_d flavors validate that the zlib1.dll file is working correctly. Questions about zlib should be sent to <zlib@gzip.org>. The zlib home page is http://zlib.net/ . Before reporting a problem, please check this site to verify that you have the latest version of zlib; otherwise get the latest version and check whether the problem still exists or not. PLEASE read DLL_FAQ.txt, and the the zlib FAQ http://zlib.net/zlib_faq.html before asking for help. Manifest: The package zlib-1.2.8-win32-x86.zip will contain the following files: README-WIN32.txt This document ChangeLog Changes since previous zlib packages DLL_FAQ.txt Frequently asked questions about zlib1.dll zlib.3.pdf Documentation of this library in Adobe Acrobat format example.exe A statically-bound example (using zlib.lib, not the dll) example.pdb Symbolic information for debugging example.exe example_d.exe A zlib1.dll bound example (using zdll.lib) example_d.pdb Symbolic information for debugging example_d.exe minigzip.exe A statically-bound test program (using zlib.lib, not the dll) minigzip.pdb Symbolic information for debugging minigzip.exe minigzip_d.exe A zlib1.dll bound test program (using zdll.lib) minigzip_d.pdb Symbolic information for debugging minigzip_d.exe zlib.h Install these files into the compilers' INCLUDE path to zconf.h compile programs which use zlib.lib or zdll.lib zdll.lib Install these files into the compilers' LIB path if linking zdll.exp a compiled program to the zlib1.dll binary zlib.lib Install these files into the compilers' LIB path to link zlib zlib.pdb into compiled programs, without zlib1.dll runtime dependency (zlib.pdb provides debugging info to the compile time linker) zlib1.dll Install this binary shared library into the system PATH, or the program's runtime directory (where the .exe resides) zlib1.pdb Install in the same directory as zlib1.dll, in order to debug an application crash using WinDbg or similar tools. All .pdb files above are entirely optional, but are very useful to a developer attempting to diagnose program misbehavior or a crash. Many additional important files for developers can be found in the zlib127.zip source package available from http://zlib.net/ - review that package's README file for details. Acknowledgments: 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; they are too numerous to cite here. Copyright notice: (C) 1995-2012 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler 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. Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose, including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it freely, subject to the following restrictions: 1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be appreciated but is not required. 2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be misrepresented as being the original software. 3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution. Jean-loup Gailly Mark Adler jloup@gzip.org madler@alumni.caltech.edu If you use the zlib library in a product, we would appreciate *not* receiving lengthy legal documents to sign. The sources are provided for free but without warranty of any kind. The library has been entirely written by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler; it does not include third-party code. If you redistribute modified sources, we would appreciate that you include in the file ChangeLog history information documenting your changes. Please read the FAQ for more information on the distribution of modified source versions.