zlib

What is zlib?

The zlib npm package provides compression and decompression functionalities using the zlib library, which is a part of Node.js core. It allows you to compress and decompress data streams and buffers using various algorithms like gzip, deflate, and more.

What are zlib's main functionalities?

Compression using gzip

This code demonstrates how to compress a file using gzip. It reads from 'input.txt' and writes the compressed data to 'input.txt.gz'.

const zlib = require('zlib');
const fs = require('fs');

const input = fs.createReadStream('input.txt');
const output = fs.createWriteStream('input.txt.gz');

input.pipe(zlib.createGzip()).pipe(output);

Decompression using gzip

This code demonstrates how to decompress a gzip file. It reads from 'input.txt.gz' and writes the decompressed data to 'input.txt'.

const zlib = require('zlib');
const fs = require('fs');

const input = fs.createReadStream('input.txt.gz');
const output = fs.createWriteStream('input.txt');

input.pipe(zlib.createGunzip()).pipe(output);

Compression using deflate

This code demonstrates how to compress a file using deflate. It reads from 'input.txt' and writes the compressed data to 'input.txt.deflate'.

const zlib = require('zlib');
const fs = require('fs');

const input = fs.createReadStream('input.txt');
const output = fs.createWriteStream('input.txt.deflate');

input.pipe(zlib.createDeflate()).pipe(output);

Decompression using deflate

This code demonstrates how to decompress a deflate file. It reads from 'input.txt.deflate' and writes the decompressed data to 'input.txt'.

const zlib = require('zlib');
const fs = require('fs');

const input = fs.createReadStream('input.txt.deflate');
const output = fs.createWriteStream('input.txt');

input.pipe(zlib.createInflate()).pipe(output);

Other packages similar to zlib

pako

Pako is a fast zlib port to JavaScript, mostly used for client-side compression and decompression. It provides similar functionalities to zlib but is designed to work in the browser as well as in Node.js.

snappy

Snappy is a fast compression and decompression library developed by Google. The node-snappy package provides Node.js bindings for Snappy, offering an alternative to zlib with a focus on speed over compression ratio.

README

NAME

node-zlib - Simple, synchronous deflate/inflate for node.js buffers.

USAGE

Install with npm install zlib.

var Buffer = require('buffer').Buffer;
var zlib = require('zlib');

var input = new Buffer('lorem ipsum dolor sit amet');
var compressed = zlib.deflate(input);
var output = zlib.inflate(compressed);

Note that node-zlib is only intended for small (< 128 KB) data that you already have buffered. It is not meant for input/output streams.

BUILDING

Make sure you have zlib installed. Mac OS X ships with it by default.

To obtain and build the bindings:

git clone git://github.com/kkaefer/node-zlib.git
cd node-zlib
./configure
make

You can also use npm to download and install them:

npm install zlib

TESTS

expresso is required to run unit tests.

npm install expresso
make test

CONTRIBUTORS

• Konstantin Käfer

LICENSE

node-zlib is BSD licensed.