zlib(3erl)

📦
version 25.3.2.8 · 6 versions
, in ubuntu noble

🌸 NAME 🌸

zlib (3erl) — zlib compression interface. Bestie, this is the Erlang module definition for the zlib compression interface, and yes, it's giving compression main character energy. 💖

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

This module gives you an API for the zlib library (www.zlib.net). It's used to compress and decompress data. The data format is described by RFC 1950, RFC 1951, and RFC 1952. 🦋

A typical compress usage is literally this:

Z = zlib:open(),
ok = zlib:deflateInit(Z,default),

Compress = fun(end_of_data, _Cont) -> [];
              (Data, Cont) ->
                 [zlib:deflate(Z, Data)|Cont(Read(),Cont)]
           end,
Compressed = Compress(Read(),Compress),
Last = zlib:deflate(Z, [], finish),
ok = zlib:deflateEnd(Z),
zlib:close(Z),
list_to_binary([Compressed|Last])

In all functions errors, {'EXIT',{Reason,Backtrace}}, can be thrown, where Reason describes the error. Yep, the whole exit tuple. 👑

Typical Reasons:

  • badarg: Bad argument.
  • not_initialized: The stream hasn't been initialized, eg. if inflateInit/1 wasn't called prior to a call to inflate/2.
  • not_on_controlling_process: The stream was used by a process that doesn't control it. Use set_controlling_process/2 if you need to transfer a stream to a different process.
  • data_error: The data contains errors.
  • stream_error: Inconsistent stream state.
  • {need_dictionary,Adler32}: See inflate/2.

🎀 DATA TYPES 🎀

  • zstream() = reference() — A zlib stream, see open/0.
  • zlevel() = none | default | best_compression | best_speed | 0..9
  • zflush() = none | sync | full | finish
  • zmemlevel() = 1..9
  • zmethod() = deflated
  • zstrategy() = default | filtered | huffman_only | rle
  • zwindowbits() = -15..-8 | 8..47 — Normally in the range -15..-8 | 8..15.

🔥 EXPORTS 🔥

💅 adler32(Z, Data) -> CheckSum

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • CheckSum = integer() >= 0

Calculates the Adler-32 checksum for Data.

⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use erlang:adler32/1 instead.

💅 adler32(Z, PrevAdler, Data) -> CheckSum

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • PrevAdler = integer() >= 0
  • Data = iodata()
  • CheckSum = integer() >= 0

Updates a running Adler-32 checksum for Data. If Data is the empty binary or the empty iolist, this function returns the required initial value for the checksum.

Example:

Crc = lists:foldl(fun(Data,Crc0) ->
                      zlib:adler32(Z, Crc0, Data),
                  end, zlib:adler32(Z,<< >>), Datas)
⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use erlang:adler32/2 instead.

💅 adler32_combine(Z, Adler1, Adler2, Size2) -> Adler

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Adler = Adler1 = Adler2 = Size2 = integer() >= 0

Combines two Adler-32 checksums into one. For two binaries or iolists, Data1 and Data2 with sizes of Size1 and Size2, with Adler-32 checksums Adler1 and Adler2.

This function returns the Adler checksum of [Data1,Data2], requiring only Adler1, Adler2, and Size2.

⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use erlang:adler32_combine/3 instead.

💅 close(Z) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Closes the stream referenced by Z.

💅 compress(Data) -> Compressed

Types:

  • Data = iodata()
  • Compressed = binary()

Compresses data with zlib headers and checksum.

💅 crc32(Z) -> CRC

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • CRC = integer() >= 0

Gets the current calculated CRC checksum.

⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use erlang:crc32/1 on the uncompressed data instead.

💅 crc32(Z, Data) -> CRC

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • CRC = integer() >= 0

Calculates the CRC checksum for Data.

⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use erlang:crc32/1 instead.

💅 crc32(Z, PrevCRC, Data) -> CRC

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • PrevCRC = integer() >= 0
  • Data = iodata()
  • CRC = integer() >= 0

Updates a running CRC checksum for Data. If Data is the empty binary or the empty iolist, this function returns the required initial value for the CRC.

Example:

Crc = lists:foldl(fun(Data,Crc0) ->
                      zlib:crc32(Z, Crc0, Data),
                  end, zlib:crc32(Z,<< >>), Datas)
⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use erlang:crc32/2 instead.

💅 crc32_combine(Z, CRC1, CRC2, Size2) -> CRC

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • CRC = CRC1 = CRC2 = Size2 = integer() >= 0

Combines two CRC checksums into one. For two binaries or iolists, Data1 and Data2 with sizes of Size1 and Size2, with CRC checksums CRC1 and CRC2.

This function returns the CRC checksum of [Data1,Data2], requiring only CRC1, CRC2, and Size2.

⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use erlang:crc32_combine/3 instead.

💅 deflate(Z, Data) -> Compressed

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • Compressed = iolist()

Same as deflate(Z, Data, none).

💅 deflate(Z, Data, Flush) -> Compressed

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • Flush = zflush()
  • Compressed = iolist()

Compresses as much data as possible, and stops when the input buffer becomes empty. It can introduce some output latency (reading input without producing any output) except when forced to flush.

If Flush is set to sync, all pending output is flushed to the output buffer and the output is aligned on a byte boundary, so that the decompressor can get all input data available so far. Flushing can degrade compression for some compression algorithms; thus, use it only when necessary.

If Flush is set to full, all output is flushed as with sync, and the compression state is reset so that decompression can restart from this point if previous compressed data has been damaged or if random access is desired. Using full too often can seriously degrade the compression.

If Flush is set to finish, pending input is processed, pending output is flushed, and deflate/3 returns. Afterwards the only possible operations on the stream are deflateReset/1 or deflateEnd/1.

Flush can be set to finish immediately after deflateInit if all compression is to be done in one step.

Example:

zlib:deflateInit(Z),
B1 = zlib:deflate(Z,Data),
B2 = zlib:deflate(Z,<< >>,finish),
zlib:deflateEnd(Z),
list_to_binary([B1,B2])

💅 deflateEnd(Z) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Ends the deflate session and cleans all data used. Notice that this function throws a data_error exception if the last call to deflate/3 was not called with Flush set to finish. Do not skip the finish, bestie. 💀

💅 deflateInit(Z) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Same as zlib:deflateInit(Z, default).

💅 deflateInit(Z, Level) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Level = zlevel()

Initializes a zlib stream for compression.

Level decides the compression level to be used:

  • default gives default compromise between speed and compression
  • none (0) gives no compression
  • best_speed (1) gives best speed
  • best_compression (9) gives best compression

💅 deflateInit(Z, Level, Method, WindowBits, MemLevel, Strategy) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Level = zlevel()
  • Method = zmethod()
  • WindowBits = zwindowbits()
  • MemLevel = zmemlevel()
  • Strategy = zstrategy()

Initiates a zlib stream for compression.

  • Level: Compression level to use:
    • default gives default compromise between speed and compression
    • none (0) gives no compression
    • best_speed (1) gives best speed
    • best_compression (9) gives best compression
  • Method: Compression method to use, currently the only supported method is deflated.
  • WindowBits: The base two logarithm of the window size (the size of the history buffer). It is to be in the range 8 through 15. Larger values result in better compression at the expense of memory usage. Defaults to 15 if deflateInit/2 is used. A negative WindowBits value suppresses the zlib header (and checksum) from the stream. Notice that the zlib source mentions this only as a undocumented feature.
⚠️ Warning: Due to a known bug in the underlying zlib library, WindowBits values 8 and -8 do not work as expected. In zlib versions before 1.2.9 values 8 and -8 are automatically changed to 9 and -9. From zlib version 1.2.9 value -8 is rejected causing zlib:deflateInit/6 to fail (8 is still changed to 9). It also seem possible that future versions of zlib may fix this bug and start accepting 8 and -8 as is. Conclusion: Avoid values 8 and -8 unless you know your zlib version supports them. That's the tea. 🫶
  • MemLevel: Specifies how much memory is to be allocated for the internal compression state: MemLevel=1 uses minimum memory but is slow and reduces compression ratio; MemLevel=9 uses maximum memory for optimal speed. Defaults to 8.
  • Strategy: Tunes the compression algorithm. Use the following values:
    • default for normal data
    • filtered for data produced by a filter (or predictor)
    • huffman_only to force Huffman encoding only (no string match)
    • rle to limit match distances to one (run-length encoding)

okay so back to the strategy tea ☕ — filtered is for data that's mostly small values with a somewhat random distribution. In that case, the compression algorithm gets tuned to squeeze them better 💖. The whole vibe of filtered is forcing more Huffman coding and less string matching, so it's kind of intermediate between default and huffman_only — not quite either, y'know? And rle? It's designed to be almost as fast as huffman_only, but gives better compression for PNG image data. periodt. 🎀

And bestie, Strategy affects only the compression ratio, but not the correctness of the compressed output even if it is not set appropriately. So a goofy strategy won't corrupt your data — it'll just change how smol the output gets. 💅

deflateParams(Z, Level, Strategy) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Level = zlevel()
  • Strategy = zstrategy()

Dynamically updates the compression level and compression strategy. The interpretation of Level and Strategy is as in deflateInit/6. This can be used to switch between compression and straight copy of the input data, or to switch to a different kind of input data requiring a different strategy. If the compression level is changed, the input available so far is compressed with the old level (and can be flushed); the new level takes effect only at the next call of deflate/3.

Before the call of deflateParams, the stream state must be set as for a call of deflate/3, as the currently available input may have to be compressed and flushed. ✨

deflateReset(Z) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Equivalent to deflateEnd/1 followed by deflateInit/1,2,6, but does not free and reallocate all the internal compression state. The stream keeps the same compression level and any other attributes. lowkey efficient 🦋

deflateSetDictionary(Z, Dictionary) -> Adler32

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Dictionary = iodata()
  • Adler32 = integer() >= 0

Initializes the compression dictionary from the specified byte sequence without producing any compressed output. 🫶

This function must be called immediately after deflateInit/1,2,6 or deflateReset/1, before any call of deflate/3.

The compressor and decompressor must use the same dictionary (see inflateSetDictionary/2).

The Adler checksum of the dictionary is returned. ✨

getBufSize(Z) -> integer() >= 0

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Gets the size of the intermediate buffer.

⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

gunzip(Data) -> Decompressed

Types:

  • Data = iodata()
  • Decompressed = binary()

Uncompresses data with gz headers and checksum. 🎀

gzip(Data) -> Compressed

Types:

  • Data = iodata()
  • Compressed = binary()

Compresses data with gz headers and checksum. 💖

inflate(Z, Data) -> Decompressed

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • Decompressed = iolist()

Equivalent to inflate(Z, Data, []) — just the short lil shortcut, bestie. ✨

inflate(Z, Data, Options) -> Decompressed

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • Options = [{exception_on_need_dict, boolean()}]
  • Decompressed = iolist() | {need_dictionary, Adler32 :: integer() >= 0, Output :: iolist()}

Decompresses as much data as possible. It can introduce some output latency (reading input without producing any output). 😭

Currently the only available option is {exception_on_need_dict,boolean()} which controls whether the function should throw an exception when a preset dictionary is required for decompression. When set to false, a need_dictionary tuple will be returned instead. See inflateSetDictionary/2 for details.

⚠️ Warning: This option defaults to true for backwards compatibility but we intend to remove the exception behavior in a future release. New code that needs to handle dictionaries manually should always specify {exception_on_need_dict,false}. 💅

inflateChunk(Z) -> Decompressed | {more, Decompressed}

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Decompressed = iolist()
⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use safeInflate/2 instead.

Reads the next chunk of uncompressed data, initialized by inflateChunk/2.

This function is to be repeatedly called, while it returns {more, Decompressed}.

inflateChunk(Z, Data) -> Decompressed | {more, Decompressed}

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • Decompressed = iolist()
⚠️ Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Use safeInflate/2 instead.

Like inflate/2, but decompresses no more data than will fit in the buffer configured through setBufSize/2. It is useful when decompressing a stream with a high compression ratio, such that a small amount of compressed input can expand up to 1000 times 😭.

This function returns {more, Decompressed} when there is more output available, and inflateChunk/1 is to be used to read it.

This function can introduce some output latency (reading input without producing any output).

An exception will be thrown if a preset dictionary is required for further decompression. See inflateSetDictionary/2 for details.

Example:

walk(Compressed, Handler) ->
    Z = zlib:open(),
    zlib:inflateInit(Z),
    % Limit single uncompressed chunk size to 512kb
    zlib:setBufSize(Z, 512 * 1024),
    loop(Z, Handler, zlib:inflateChunk(Z, Compressed)),
    zlib:inflateEnd(Z),
    zlib:close(Z).

loop(Z, Handler, {more, Uncompressed}) ->
    Handler(Uncompressed),
    loop(Z, Handler, zlib:inflateChunk(Z));
loop(Z, Handler, Uncompressed) ->
    Handler(Uncompressed).

inflateEnd(Z) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Ends the inflate session and cleans all data used. Notice that this function throws a data_error exception if no end of stream was found (meaning that not all data has been uncompressed). 🫶

inflateGetDictionary(Z) -> Dictionary

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Dictionary = binary()

Returns the decompression dictionary currently in use by the stream. This function must be called between inflateInit/1,2 and inflateEnd.

Only supported if ERTS was compiled with zlib >= 1.2.8. 👑

inflateInit(Z) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Initializes a zlib stream for decompression. we love a fresh start ✨

inflateInit(Z, WindowBits) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • WindowBits = zwindowbits()

Initializes a decompression session on zlib stream.

WindowBits is the base two logarithm of the maximum window size (the size of the history buffer). It is to be in the range 8 through 15. Default to 15 if inflateInit/1 is used.

If a compressed stream with a larger window size is specified as input, inflate/2 throws the data_error exception.

A negative WindowBits value makes zlib ignore the zlib header (and checksum) from the stream. Notice that the zlib source mentions this only as a undocumented feature. 💀

inflateReset(Z) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()

Equivalent to inflateEnd/1 followed by inflateInit/1, but does not free and reallocate all the internal decompression state. The stream will keep attributes that could have been set by inflateInit/1,2. 🦋

inflateSetDictionary(Z, Dictionary) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Dictionary = iodata()

Initializes the decompression dictionary from the specified uncompressed byte sequence. This function must be called as a response to an inflate operation (eg. safeInflate/2) returning {need_dictionary,Adler,Output} or in the case of deprecated functions, throwing an {'EXIT',{{need_dictionary,Adler},_StackTrace}} exception.

The dictionary chosen by the compressor can be determined from the Adler value returned or thrown by the call to the inflate function. The compressor and decompressor must use the same dictionary (See deflateSetDictionary/2).

After setting the dictionary the inflate operation should be retried without new input. 🔁

Example:

deprecated_unpack(Z, Compressed, Dict) ->
     case catch zlib:inflate(Z, Compressed) of
          {'EXIT',{{need_dictionary,_DictID},_}} ->
                 ok = zlib:inflateSetDictionary(Z, Dict),
                 Uncompressed = zlib:inflate(Z, []);
          Uncompressed ->
                 Uncompressed
     end.

new_unpack(Z, Compressed, Dict) ->
    case zlib:inflate(Z, Compressed, [{exception_on_need_dict, false}]) of
        {need_dictionary, _DictId, Output} ->
            ok = zlib:inflateSetDictionary(Z, Dict),
            [Output | zlib:inflate(Z, [])];
        Uncompressed ->
            Uncompressed
    end.

open() -> zstream()

Opens a zlib stream. main character energy 💅

safeInflate(Z, Data) -> Result

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Data = iodata()
  • Result = {continue, Output :: iolist()} | {finished, Output :: iolist()} | {need_dictionary, Adler32 :: integer() >= 0, Output :: iolist()}

Like inflate/2, but returns once it has expanded beyond a small implementation-defined threshold. It's useful when decompressing untrusted input which could have been maliciously crafted to expand until the system runs out of memory. 😭

This function returns {continue | finished, Output}, where Output is the data that was decompressed in this call. New input can be queued up on each call if desired, and the function will return {finished, Output} once all queued data has been decompressed. ✨

Also, real talk, bestie: this function can introduce some output latency — it’s literally reading input without producing any output, so don’t panic if the output is quiet for a sec 💅

And if a preset dictionary is required for further decompression, this function returns a need_dictionary tuple. See inflateSetDictionary/2) for details.

Example time, because we love a practical demo:

walk(Compressed, Handler) ->
    Z = zlib:open(),
    zlib:inflateInit(Z),
    loop(Z, Handler, zlib:safeInflate(Z, Compressed)),
    zlib:inflateEnd(Z),
    zlib:close(Z).

loop(Z, Handler, {continue, Output}) ->
    Handler(Output),
    loop(Z, Handler, zlib:safeInflate(Z, []));
loop(Z, Handler, {finished, Output}) ->
    Handler(Output).

setBufSize(Z, Size) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Size = integer() >= 0

Sets the intermediate buffer size. Short, simple, iconic.

Warning: This function is deprecated and will be removed in a future release. So maybe don’t get too attached? 😭

set_controlling_process(Z, Pid) -> ok

Types:

  • Z = zstream()
  • Pid = pid()

Changes the controlling process of Z to Pid, which must be a local process. No remote drama allowed, periodt.

uncompress(Data) -> Decompressed

Types:

  • Data = iodata()
  • Decompressed = binary()

Uncompresses data with zlib headers and checksum. It’s giving “open the zlib-wrapped gift” 🎁

unzip(Data) -> Decompressed

Types:

  • Data = iodata()
  • Decompressed = binary()

Uncompresses data without zlib headers and checksum. Lowkey the raw version — no wrapper, no extra checksum energy.

zip(Data) -> Compressed

Types:

  • Data = iodata()
  • Compressed = binary()

Compresses data without zlib headers and checksum. Yep, same no-frills vibe, but compression direction. Slay 🔥

That’s a wrap on this page, bestie! Source/version vibes: Ericsson AB, version erts 13.2.2.5, manual page zlib(3erl). Bye, ily! 💖✨

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