Frequently Asked Questions about zlib

If your question is not there, please check the zlib home page

http://www.zlib.org which may have more recent information.

The lastest zlib FAQ is at http://www.gzip.org/zlib/zlib_faq.html

 1. Is zlib Y2K-compliant?

    Yes. zlib doesn't handle dates.

 2. Where can I get a Windows DLL version?

    The zlib sources can be compiled without change to produce a DLL.

    See the file win32/DLL_FAQ.txt in the zlib distribution.

    Pointers to the precompiled DLL are found in the zlib web site at

    http://www.zlib.org.

 3. Where can I get a Visual Basic interface to zlib?

    See

        * http://www.dogma.net/markn/articles/zlibtool/zlibtool.htm

        * contrib/visual-basic.txt in the zlib distribution

        * win32/DLL_FAQ.txt in the zlib distribution

 4. compress() returns Z_BUF_ERROR.

    Make sure that before the call of compress, the length of the compressed

    buffer is equal to the total size of the compressed buffer and not

    zero. For Visual Basic, check that this parameter is passed by reference

    ("as any"), not by value ("as long").

 5. deflate() or inflate() returns Z_BUF_ERROR.

    Before making the call, make sure that avail_in and avail_out are not

    zero. When setting the parameter flush equal to Z_FINISH, also make sure

    that avail_out is big enough to allow processing all pending input.

    Note that a Z_BUF_ERROR is not fatal--another call to deflate() or

    inflate() can be made with more input or output space. A Z_BUF_ERROR

    may in fact be unavoidable depending on how the functions are used, since

    it is not possible to tell whether or not there is more output pending

    when strm.avail_out returns with zero.

 6. Where's the zlib documentation (man pages, etc.)?

    It's in zlib.h for the moment, and Francis S. Lin has converted it to a

    web page zlib.html. Volunteers to transform this to Unix-style man pages,

    please contact us (zlib@gzip.org). Examples of zlib usage are in the files

    example.c and minigzip.c.

 7. Why don't you use GNU autoconf or libtool or ...?

    Because we would like to keep zlib as a very small and simple

    package. zlib is rather portable and doesn't need much configuration.

 8. I found a bug in zlib.

    Most of the time, such problems are due to an incorrect usage of

    zlib. Please try to reproduce the problem with a small program and send

    the corresponding source to us at zlib@gzip.org . Do not send

    multi-megabyte data files without prior agreement.

 9. Why do I get "undefined reference to gzputc"?

    If "make test" produces something like

       example.o(.text+0x154): undefined reference to `gzputc'

    check that you don't have old files libz.* in /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib or

    /usr/X11R6/lib. Remove any old versions, then do "make install".

10. I need a Delphi interface to zlib.

    See the contrib/delphi directory in the zlib distribution.

11. Can zlib handle .zip archives?

    Not by itself, no.  See the directory contrib/minizip in the zlib

    distribution.

12. Can zlib handle .Z files?

    No, sorry. You have to spawn an uncompress or gunzip subprocess, or adapt

    the code of uncompress on your own.

13. How can I make a Unix shared library?

    make clean

    ./configure -s

    make

14. How do I install a shared zlib library on Unix?

    After the above, then:

    make install

    However, many flavors of Unix come with a shared zlib already installed.

    Before going to the trouble of compiling a shared version of zlib and

    trying to install it, you may want to check if it's already there! If you

    can #include <zlib.h>, it's there. The -lz option will probably link to it.

15. I have a question about OttoPDF.

    We are not the authors of OttoPDF. The real author is on the OttoPDF web

    site: Joel Hainley, jhainley@myndkryme.com.

16. Can zlib decode Flate data in an Adobe PDF file?

    Yes. See http://www.fastio.com/ (ClibPDF), or http://www.pdflib.com/ .

    To modify PDF forms, see http://sourceforge.net/projects/acroformtool/ .

17. Why am I getting this "register_frame_info not found" error on Solaris?

    After installing zlib 1.1.4 on Solaris 2.6, running applications using zlib

    generates an error such as:

        ld.so.1: rpm: fatal: relocation error: file /usr/local/lib/libz.so:

        symbol __register_frame_info: referenced symbol not found

    The symbol __register_frame_info is not part of zlib, it is generated by

    the C compiler (cc or gcc). You must recompile applications using zlib

    which have this problem. This problem is specific to Solaris. See

    http://www.sunfreeware.com for Solaris versions of zlib and applications

    using zlib.

18. Why does gzip give an error on a file I make with compress/deflate?

    The compress and deflate functions produce data in the zlib format, which

    is different and incompatible with the gzip format. The gz* functions in

    zlib on the other hand use the gzip format. Both the zlib and gzip

    formats use the same compressed data format internally, but have different

    headers and trailers around the compressed data.

19. Ok, so why are there two different formats?

    The gzip format was designed to retain the directory information about

    a single file, such as the name and last modification date. The zlib

    format on the other hand was designed for in-memory and communication

    channel applications, and has a much more compact header and trailer and

    uses a faster integrity check than gzip.

20. Well that's nice, but how do I make a gzip file in memory?

    You can request that deflate write the gzip format instead of the zlib

    format using deflateInit2(). You can also request that inflate decode

    the gzip format using inflateInit2(). Read zlib.h for more details.

21. Is zlib thread-safe?

    Yes. However any library routines that zlib uses and any application-

    provided memory allocation routines must also be thread-safe. zlib's gz*

    functions use stdio library routines, and most of zlib's functions use the

    library memory allocation routines by default. zlib's Init functions allow

    for the application to provide custom memory allocation routines.

    Of course, you should only operate on any given zlib or gzip stream from a

    single thread at a time.

22. Can I use zlib in my commercial application?

    Yes. Please read the license in zlib.h.

23. Is zlib under the GNU license?

    No. Please read the license in zlib.h.

24. The license says that altered source versions must be "plainly marked". So

    what exactly do I need to do to meet that requirement?

    You need to change the ZLIB_VERSION and ZLIB_VERNUM #defines in zlib.h. In

    particular, the final version number needs to be changed to "f", and an

    identification string should be appended to ZLIB_VERSION. Version numbers

    x.x.x.f are reserved for modifications to zlib by others than the zlib

    maintainers. For example, if the version of the base zlib you are altering

    is "1.2.3.4", then in zlib.h you should change ZLIB_VERNUM to 0x123f, and

    ZLIB_VERSION to something like "1.2.3.f-zachary-mods-v3". You can also

    update the version strings in deflate.c and inftrees.c.

    For altered source distributions, you should also note the origin and

    nature of the changes in zlib.h, as well as in ChangeLog and README, along

    with the dates of the alterations. The origin should include at least your

    name (or your company's name), and an email address to contact for help or

    issues with the library.

    Note that distributing a compiled zlib library along with zlib.h and

    zconf.h is also a source distribution, and so you should change

    ZLIB_VERSION and ZLIB_VERNUM and note the origin and nature of the changes

    in zlib.h as you would for a full source distribution.

25. Will zlib work on a big-endian or little-endian architecture, and can I

    exchange compressed data between them?

    Yes and yes.

26. Will zlib work on a 64-bit machine?

    It should. It has been tested on 64-bit machines, and has no dependence

    on any data types being limited to 32-bits in length. If you have any

    difficulties, please provide a complete problem report to zlib@gzip.org

27. Will zlib decompress data from the PKWare Data Compression Library?

    No. The PKWare DCL uses a completely different compressed data format

    than does PKZIP and zlib. However, you can look in zlib's contrib/blast

    directory for a possible solution to your problem.

28. Can I access data randomly in a compressed stream?

    No, not without some preparation. If when compressing you periodically

    use Z_FULL_FLUSH, carefully write all the pending data at those points,

    and keep an index of those locations, then you can start decompression

    at those points. You have to be careful to not use Z_FULL_FLUSH too

    often, since it can significantly degrade compression.

29. Does zlib work on MVS, OS/390, CICS, etc.?

    We don't know for sure. We have heard occasional reports of success on

    these systems. If you do use it on one of these, please provide us with

    a report, instructions, and patches that we can reference when we get

    these questions. Thanks.

30. Is there some simpler, easier to read version of inflate I can look at

    to understand the deflate format?

    First off, you should read RFC 1951. Second, yes. Look in zlib's

    contrib/puff directory.

31. Does zlib infringe on any patents?

    As far as we know, no. In fact, that was originally the whole point behind

    zlib. Look here for some more information:

    http://www.gzip.org/#faq11

32. Can zlib work with greater than 4 GB of data?

    Yes. inflate() and deflate() will process any amount of data correctly.

    Each call of inflate() or deflate() is limited to input and output chunks

    of the maximum value that can be stored in the compiler's "unsigned int"

    type, but there is no limit to the number of chunks. Note however that the

    strm.total_in and strm_total_out counters may be limited to 4 GB. These

    counters are provided as a convenience and are not used internally by

    inflate() or deflate(). The application can easily set up its own counters

    updated after each call of inflate() or deflate() to count beyond 4 GB.

    compress() and uncompress() may be limited to 4 GB, since they operate in a

    single call. gzseek() and gztell() may be limited to 4 GB depending on how

    zlib is compiled. See the zlibCompileFlags() function in zlib.h.

    The word "may" appears several times above since there is a 4 GB limit

    only if the compiler's "long" type is 32 bits. If the compiler's "long"

    type is 64 bits, then the limit is 16 exabytes.

33. Does zlib have any security vulnerabilities?

    The only one that we are aware of is potentially in gzprintf(). If zlib

    is compiled to use sprintf() or vsprintf(), then there is no protection

    against a buffer overflow of a 4K string space, other than the caller of

    gzprintf() assuring that the output will not exceed 4K. On the other

    hand, if zlib is compiled to use snprintf() or vsnprintf(), which should

    normally be the case, then there is no vulnerability. The ./configure

    script will display warnings if an insecure variation of sprintf() will

    be used by gzprintf(). Also the zlibCompileFlags() function will return

    information on what variant of sprintf() is used by gzprintf().

    If you don't have snprintf() or vsnprintf() and would like one, you can

    find a portable implementation here:

        http://www.ijs.si/software/snprintf/

    Note that you should be using the most recent version of zlib. Versions

    1.1.3 and before were subject to a double-free vulnerability.

34. Is there a Java version of zlib?

    Probably what you want is to use zlib in Java. zlib is already included

    as part of the Java SDK in the java.util.zip package. If you really want

    a version of zlib written in the Java language, look on the zlib home

    page for links: http://www.zlib.org/

35. I get this or that compiler or source-code scanner warning when I crank it

    up to maximally-pedantic. Can't you guys write proper code?

    Many years ago, we gave up attempting to avoid warnings on every compiler

    in the universe. It just got to be a waste of time, and some compilers

    were downright silly. So now, we simply make sure that the code always

    works.

36. Valgrind (or some similar memory access checker) says that deflate is

    performing a conditional jump that depends on an uninitialized value.

    Isn't that a bug?

    No.  That is intentional for performance reasons, and the output of

    deflate is not affected.  This only started showing up recently since

    zlib 1.2.x uses malloc() by default for allocations, whereas earlier

    versions used calloc(), which zeros out the allocated memory.

37. Will zlib read the (insert any ancient or arcane format here) compressed

    data format?

    Probably not. Look in the comp.compression FAQ for pointers to various

    formats and associated software.

38. How can I encrypt/decrypt zip files with zlib?

    zlib doesn't support encryption. The original PKZIP encryption is very weak

    and can be broken with freely available programs. To get strong encryption,

    use GnuPG, http://www.gnupg.org/ , which already includes zlib compression.

    For PKZIP compatible "encryption", look at http://www.info-zip.org/

39. What's the difference between the "gzip" and "deflate" HTTP 1.1 encodings?

    "gzip" is the gzip format, and "deflate" is the zlib format. They should

    probably have called the second one "zlib" instead to avoid confusion

    with the raw deflate compressed data format. While the HTTP 1.1 RFC 2616

    correctly points to the zlib specification in RFC 1950 for the "deflate"

    transfer encoding, there have been reports of servers and browsers that

    incorrectly produce or expect raw deflate data per the deflate

    specficiation in RFC 1951, most notably Microsoft. So even though the

    "deflate" transfer encoding using the zlib format would be the more

    efficient approach (and in fact exactly what the zlib format was designed

    for), using the "gzip" transfer encoding is probably more reliable due to

    an unfortunate choice of name on the part of the HTTP 1.1 authors.

    Bottom line: use the gzip format for HTTP 1.1 encoding.

40. Does zlib support the new "Deflate64" format introduced by PKWare?

    No. PKWare has apparently decided to keep that format proprietary, since

    they have not documented it as they have previous compression formats.

    In any case, the compression improvements are so modest compared to other

    more modern approaches, that it's not worth the effort to implement.

41. Can you please sign these lengthy legal documents and fax them back to us

    so that we can use your software in our product?

    No. Go away. Shoo.