| 1 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 2 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 3 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 4 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 5 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 6 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 7 | Network Working Group                                         P. Deutsch | 
 
 
 
 
 | 8 | Request for Comments: 1950                           Aladdin Enterprises | 
 
 
 
 
 | 9 | Category: Informational                                      J-L. Gailly | 
 
 
 
 
 | 10 | Info-ZIP | 
 
 
 
 
 | 11 | May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 12 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 13 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 14 | ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification version 3.3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 15 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 16 | Status of This Memo | 
 
 
 
 
 | 17 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 18 | This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo | 
 
 
 
 
 | 19 | does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 20 | this memo is unlimited. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 21 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 22 | IESG Note: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 23 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 24 | The IESG takes no position on the validity of any Intellectual | 
 
 
 
 
 | 25 | Property Rights statements contained in this document. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 26 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 27 | Notices | 
 
 
 
 
 | 28 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 29 | Copyright (c) 1996 L. Peter Deutsch and Jean-Loup Gailly | 
 
 
 
 
 | 30 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 31 | Permission is granted to copy and distribute this document for any | 
 
 
 
 
 | 32 | purpose and without charge, including translations into other | 
 
 
 
 
 | 33 | languages and incorporation into compilations, provided that the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 34 | copyright notice and this notice are preserved, and that any | 
 
 
 
 
 | 35 | substantive changes or deletions from the original are clearly | 
 
 
 
 
 | 36 | marked. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 37 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 38 | A pointer to the latest version of this and related documentation in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 39 | HTML format can be found at the URL | 
 
 
 
 
 | 40 | <ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/png/documents/zlib/zdoc-index.html>. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 41 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 42 | Abstract | 
 
 
 
 
 | 43 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 44 | This specification defines a lossless compressed data format.  The | 
 
 
 
 
 | 45 | data can be produced or consumed, even for an arbitrarily long | 
 
 
 
 
 | 46 | sequentially presented input data stream, using only an a priori | 
 
 
 
 
 | 47 | bounded amount of intermediate storage.  The format presently uses | 
 
 
 
 
 | 48 | the DEFLATE compression method but can be easily extended to use | 
 
 
 
 
 | 49 | other compression methods.  It can be implemented readily in a manner | 
 
 
 
 
 | 50 | not covered by patents.  This specification also defines the ADLER-32 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 51 | checksum (an extension and improvement of the Fletcher checksum), | 
 
 
 
 
 | 52 | used for detection of data corruption, and provides an algorithm for | 
 
 
 
 
 | 53 | computing it. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 54 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 55 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 56 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 57 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 58 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 1] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 59 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 60 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 61 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 62 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 63 | Table of Contents | 
 
 
 
 
 | 64 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 65 | 1. Introduction ................................................... 2 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 66 | 1.1. Purpose ................................................... 2 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 67 | 1.2. Intended audience ......................................... 3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 68 | 1.3. Scope ..................................................... 3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 69 | 1.4. Compliance ................................................ 3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 70 | 1.5.  Definitions of terms and conventions used ................ 3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 71 | 1.6. Changes from previous versions ............................ 3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 72 | 2. Detailed specification ......................................... 3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 73 | 2.1. Overall conventions ....................................... 3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 74 | 2.2. Data format ............................................... 4 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 75 | 2.3. Compliance ................................................ 7 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 76 | 3. References ..................................................... 7 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 77 | 4. Source code .................................................... 8 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 78 | 5. Security Considerations ........................................ 8 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 79 | 6. Acknowledgements ............................................... 8 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 80 | 7. Authors' Addresses ............................................. 8 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 81 | 8. Appendix: Rationale ............................................ 9 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 82 | 9. Appendix: Sample code ..........................................10 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 83 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 84 | 1. Introduction | 
 
 
 
 
 | 85 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 86 | 1.1. Purpose | 
 
 
 
 
 | 87 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 88 | The purpose of this specification is to define a lossless | 
 
 
 
 
 | 89 | compressed data format that: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 90 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 91 | * Is independent of CPU type, operating system, file system, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 92 | and character set, and hence can be used for interchange; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 93 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 94 | * Can be produced or consumed, even for an arbitrarily long | 
 
 
 
 
 | 95 | sequentially presented input data stream, using only an a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 96 | priori bounded amount of intermediate storage, and hence can | 
 
 
 
 
 | 97 | be used in data communications or similar structures such as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 98 | Unix filters; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 99 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 100 | * Can use a number of different compression methods; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 101 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 102 | * Can be implemented readily in a manner not covered by | 
 
 
 
 
 | 103 | patents, and hence can be practiced freely. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 104 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 105 | The data format defined by this specification does not attempt to | 
 
 
 
 
 | 106 | allow random access to compressed data. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 107 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 108 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 109 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 110 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 111 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 112 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 113 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 114 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 2] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 115 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 116 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 117 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 118 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 119 | 1.2. Intended audience | 
 
 
 
 
 | 120 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 121 | This specification is intended for use by implementors of software | 
 
 
 
 
 | 122 | to compress data into zlib format and/or decompress data from zlib | 
 
 
 
 
 | 123 | format. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 124 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 125 | The text of the specification assumes a basic background in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 126 | programming at the level of bits and other primitive data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 127 | representations. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 128 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 129 | 1.3. Scope | 
 
 
 
 
 | 130 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 131 | The specification specifies a compressed data format that can be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 132 | used for in-memory compression of a sequence of arbitrary bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 133 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 134 | 1.4. Compliance | 
 
 
 
 
 | 135 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 136 | Unless otherwise indicated below, a compliant decompressor must be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 137 | able to accept and decompress any data set that conforms to all | 
 
 
 
 
 | 138 | the specifications presented here; a compliant compressor must | 
 
 
 
 
 | 139 | produce data sets that conform to all the specifications presented | 
 
 
 
 
 | 140 | here. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 141 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 142 | 1.5.  Definitions of terms and conventions used | 
 
 
 
 
 | 143 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 144 | byte: 8 bits stored or transmitted as a unit (same as an octet). | 
 
 
 
 
 | 145 | (For this specification, a byte is exactly 8 bits, even on | 
 
 
 
 
 | 146 | machines which store a character on a number of bits different | 
 
 
 
 
 | 147 | from 8.) See below, for the numbering of bits within a byte. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 148 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 149 | 1.6. Changes from previous versions | 
 
 
 
 
 | 150 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 151 | Version 3.1 was the first public release of this specification. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 152 | In version 3.2, some terminology was changed and the Adler-32 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 153 | sample code was rewritten for clarity.  In version 3.3, the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 154 | support for a preset dictionary was introduced, and the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 155 | specification was converted to RFC style. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 156 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 157 | 2. Detailed specification | 
 
 
 
 
 | 158 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 159 | 2.1. Overall conventions | 
 
 
 
 
 | 160 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 161 | In the diagrams below, a box like this: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 162 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 163 | +---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 164 | |   | <-- the vertical bars might be missing | 
 
 
 
 
 | 165 | +---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 166 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 167 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 168 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 169 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 170 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 3] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 171 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 172 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 173 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 174 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 175 | represents one byte; a box like this: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 176 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 177 | +==============+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 178 | |              | | 
 
 
 
 
 | 179 | +==============+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 180 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 181 | represents a variable number of bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 182 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 183 | Bytes stored within a computer do not have a "bit order", since | 
 
 
 
 
 | 184 | they are always treated as a unit.  However, a byte considered as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 185 | an integer between 0 and 255 does have a most- and least- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 186 | significant bit, and since we write numbers with the most- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 187 | significant digit on the left, we also write bytes with the most- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 188 | significant bit on the left.  In the diagrams below, we number the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 189 | bits of a byte so that bit 0 is the least-significant bit, i.e., | 
 
 
 
 
 | 190 | the bits are numbered: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 191 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 192 | +--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 193 | |76543210| | 
 
 
 
 
 | 194 | +--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 195 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 196 | Within a computer, a number may occupy multiple bytes.  All | 
 
 
 
 
 | 197 | multi-byte numbers in the format described here are stored with | 
 
 
 
 
 | 198 | the MOST-significant byte first (at the lower memory address). | 
 
 
 
 
 | 199 | For example, the decimal number 520 is stored as: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 200 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 201 | 0     1 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 202 | +--------+--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 203 | |00000010|00001000| | 
 
 
 
 
 | 204 | +--------+--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 205 | ^        ^ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 206 | |        | | 
 
 
 
 
 | 207 | |        + less significant byte = 8 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 208 | + more significant byte = 2 x 256 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 209 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 210 | 2.2. Data format | 
 
 
 
 
 | 211 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 212 | A zlib stream has the following structure: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 213 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 214 | 0   1 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 215 | +---+---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 216 | |CMF|FLG|   (more-->) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 217 | +---+---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 218 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 219 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 220 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 221 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 222 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 223 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 224 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 225 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 226 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 4] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 227 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 228 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 229 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 230 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 231 | (if FLG.FDICT set) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 232 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 233 | 0   1   2   3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 234 | +---+---+---+---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 235 | |     DICTID    |   (more-->) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 236 | +---+---+---+---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 237 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 238 | +=====================+---+---+---+---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 239 | |...compressed data...|    ADLER32    | | 
 
 
 
 
 | 240 | +=====================+---+---+---+---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 241 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 242 | Any data which may appear after ADLER32 are not part of the zlib | 
 
 
 
 
 | 243 | stream. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 244 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 245 | CMF (Compression Method and flags) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 246 | This byte is divided into a 4-bit compression method and a 4- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 247 | bit information field depending on the compression method. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 248 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 249 | bits 0 to 3  CM     Compression method | 
 
 
 
 
 | 250 | bits 4 to 7  CINFO  Compression info | 
 
 
 
 
 | 251 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 252 | CM (Compression method) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 253 | This identifies the compression method used in the file. CM = 8 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 254 | denotes the "deflate" compression method with a window size up | 
 
 
 
 
 | 255 | to 32K.  This is the method used by gzip and PNG (see | 
 
 
 
 
 | 256 | references [1] and [2] in Chapter 3, below, for the reference | 
 
 
 
 
 | 257 | documents).  CM = 15 is reserved.  It might be used in a future | 
 
 
 
 
 | 258 | version of this specification to indicate the presence of an | 
 
 
 
 
 | 259 | extra field before the compressed data. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 260 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 261 | CINFO (Compression info) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 262 | For CM = 8, CINFO is the base-2 logarithm of the LZ77 window | 
 
 
 
 
 | 263 | size, minus eight (CINFO=7 indicates a 32K window size). Values | 
 
 
 
 
 | 264 | of CINFO above 7 are not allowed in this version of the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 265 | specification.  CINFO is not defined in this specification for | 
 
 
 
 
 | 266 | CM not equal to 8. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 267 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 268 | FLG (FLaGs) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 269 | This flag byte is divided as follows: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 270 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 271 | bits 0 to 4  FCHECK  (check bits for CMF and FLG) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 272 | bit  5       FDICT   (preset dictionary) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 273 | bits 6 to 7  FLEVEL  (compression level) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 274 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 275 | The FCHECK value must be such that CMF and FLG, when viewed as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 276 | a 16-bit unsigned integer stored in MSB order (CMF*256 + FLG), | 
 
 
 
 
 | 277 | is a multiple of 31. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 278 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 279 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 280 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 281 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 282 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 5] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 283 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 284 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 285 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 286 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 287 | FDICT (Preset dictionary) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 288 | If FDICT is set, a DICT dictionary identifier is present | 
 
 
 
 
 | 289 | immediately after the FLG byte. The dictionary is a sequence of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 290 | bytes which are initially fed to the compressor without | 
 
 
 
 
 | 291 | producing any compressed output. DICT is the Adler-32 checksum | 
 
 
 
 
 | 292 | of this sequence of bytes (see the definition of ADLER32 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 293 | below).  The decompressor can use this identifier to determine | 
 
 
 
 
 | 294 | which dictionary has been used by the compressor. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 295 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 296 | FLEVEL (Compression level) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 297 | These flags are available for use by specific compression | 
 
 
 
 
 | 298 | methods.  The "deflate" method (CM = 8) sets these flags as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 299 | follows: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 300 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 301 | 0 - compressor used fastest algorithm | 
 
 
 
 
 | 302 | 1 - compressor used fast algorithm | 
 
 
 
 
 | 303 | 2 - compressor used default algorithm | 
 
 
 
 
 | 304 | 3 - compressor used maximum compression, slowest algorithm | 
 
 
 
 
 | 305 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 306 | The information in FLEVEL is not needed for decompression; it | 
 
 
 
 
 | 307 | is there to indicate if recompression might be worthwhile. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 308 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 309 | compressed data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 310 | For compression method 8, the compressed data is stored in the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 311 | deflate compressed data format as described in the document | 
 
 
 
 
 | 312 | "DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification" by L. Peter | 
 
 
 
 
 | 313 | Deutsch. (See reference [3] in Chapter 3, below) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 314 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 315 | Other compressed data formats are not specified in this version | 
 
 
 
 
 | 316 | of the zlib specification. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 317 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 318 | ADLER32 (Adler-32 checksum) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 319 | This contains a checksum value of the uncompressed data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 320 | (excluding any dictionary data) computed according to Adler-32 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 321 | algorithm. This algorithm is a 32-bit extension and improvement | 
 
 
 
 
 | 322 | of the Fletcher algorithm, used in the ITU-T X.224 / ISO 8073 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 323 | standard. See references [4] and [5] in Chapter 3, below) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 324 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 325 | Adler-32 is composed of two sums accumulated per byte: s1 is | 
 
 
 
 
 | 326 | the sum of all bytes, s2 is the sum of all s1 values. Both sums | 
 
 
 
 
 | 327 | are done modulo 65521. s1 is initialized to 1, s2 to zero.  The | 
 
 
 
 
 | 328 | Adler-32 checksum is stored as s2*65536 + s1 in most- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 329 | significant-byte first (network) order. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 330 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 331 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 332 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 333 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 334 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 335 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 336 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 337 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 338 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 6] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 339 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 340 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 341 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 342 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 343 | 2.3. Compliance | 
 
 
 
 
 | 344 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 345 | A compliant compressor must produce streams with correct CMF, FLG | 
 
 
 
 
 | 346 | and ADLER32, but need not support preset dictionaries.  When the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 347 | zlib data format is used as part of another standard data format, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 348 | the compressor may use only preset dictionaries that are specified | 
 
 
 
 
 | 349 | by this other data format.  If this other format does not use the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 350 | preset dictionary feature, the compressor must not set the FDICT | 
 
 
 
 
 | 351 | flag. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 352 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 353 | A compliant decompressor must check CMF, FLG, and ADLER32, and | 
 
 
 
 
 | 354 | provide an error indication if any of these have incorrect values. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 355 | A compliant decompressor must give an error indication if CM is | 
 
 
 
 
 | 356 | not one of the values defined in this specification (only the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 357 | value 8 is permitted in this version), since another value could | 
 
 
 
 
 | 358 | indicate the presence of new features that would cause subsequent | 
 
 
 
 
 | 359 | data to be interpreted incorrectly.  A compliant decompressor must | 
 
 
 
 
 | 360 | give an error indication if FDICT is set and DICTID is not the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 361 | identifier of a known preset dictionary.  A decompressor may | 
 
 
 
 
 | 362 | ignore FLEVEL and still be compliant.  When the zlib data format | 
 
 
 
 
 | 363 | is being used as a part of another standard format, a compliant | 
 
 
 
 
 | 364 | decompressor must support all the preset dictionaries specified by | 
 
 
 
 
 | 365 | the other format. When the other format does not use the preset | 
 
 
 
 
 | 366 | dictionary feature, a compliant decompressor must reject any | 
 
 
 
 
 | 367 | stream in which the FDICT flag is set. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 368 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 369 | 3. References | 
 
 
 
 
 | 370 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 371 | [1] Deutsch, L.P.,"GZIP Compressed Data Format Specification", | 
 
 
 
 
 | 372 | available in ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/doc/ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 373 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 374 | [2] Thomas Boutell, "PNG (Portable Network Graphics) specification", | 
 
 
 
 
 | 375 | available in ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/png/documents/ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 376 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 377 | [3] Deutsch, L.P.,"DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification", | 
 
 
 
 
 | 378 | available in ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/doc/ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 379 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 380 | [4] Fletcher, J. G., "An Arithmetic Checksum for Serial | 
 
 
 
 
 | 381 | Transmissions," IEEE Transactions on Communications, Vol. COM-30, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 382 | No. 1, January 1982, pp. 247-252. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 383 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 384 | [5] ITU-T Recommendation X.224, Annex D, "Checksum Algorithms," | 
 
 
 
 
 | 385 | November, 1993, pp. 144, 145. (Available from | 
 
 
 
 
 | 386 | gopher://info.itu.ch). ITU-T X.244 is also the same as ISO 8073. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 387 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 388 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 389 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 390 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 391 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 392 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 393 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 394 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 7] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 395 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 396 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 397 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 398 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 399 | 4. Source code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 400 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 401 | Source code for a C language implementation of a "zlib" compliant | 
 
 
 
 
 | 402 | library is available at ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/zlib/. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 403 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 404 | 5. Security Considerations | 
 
 
 
 
 | 405 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 406 | A decoder that fails to check the ADLER32 checksum value may be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 407 | subject to undetected data corruption. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 408 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 409 | 6. Acknowledgements | 
 
 
 
 
 | 410 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 411 | Trademarks cited in this document are the property of their | 
 
 
 
 
 | 412 | respective owners. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 413 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 414 | Jean-Loup Gailly and Mark Adler designed the zlib format and wrote | 
 
 
 
 
 | 415 | the related software described in this specification.  Glenn | 
 
 
 
 
 | 416 | Randers-Pehrson converted this document to RFC and HTML format. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 417 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 418 | 7. Authors' Addresses | 
 
 
 
 
 | 419 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 420 | L. Peter Deutsch | 
 
 
 
 
 | 421 | Aladdin Enterprises | 
 
 
 
 
 | 422 | 203 Santa Margarita Ave. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 423 | Menlo Park, CA 94025 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 424 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 425 | Phone: (415) 322-0103 (AM only) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 426 | FAX:   (415) 322-1734 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 427 | EMail: <ghost@aladdin.com> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 428 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 429 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 430 | Jean-Loup Gailly | 
 
 
 
 
 | 431 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 432 | EMail: <gzip@prep.ai.mit.edu> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 433 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 434 | Questions about the technical content of this specification can be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 435 | sent by email to | 
 
 
 
 
 | 436 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 437 | Jean-Loup Gailly <gzip@prep.ai.mit.edu> and | 
 
 
 
 
 | 438 | Mark Adler <madler@alumni.caltech.edu> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 439 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 440 | Editorial comments on this specification can be sent by email to | 
 
 
 
 
 | 441 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 442 | L. Peter Deutsch <ghost@aladdin.com> and | 
 
 
 
 
 | 443 | Glenn Randers-Pehrson <randeg@alumni.rpi.edu> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 444 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 445 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 446 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 447 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 448 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 449 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 450 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 8] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 451 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 452 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 453 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 454 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 455 | 8. Appendix: Rationale | 
 
 
 
 
 | 456 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 457 | 8.1. Preset dictionaries | 
 
 
 
 
 | 458 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 459 | A preset dictionary is specially useful to compress short input | 
 
 
 
 
 | 460 | sequences. The compressor can take advantage of the dictionary | 
 
 
 
 
 | 461 | context to encode the input in a more compact manner. The | 
 
 
 
 
 | 462 | decompressor can be initialized with the appropriate context by | 
 
 
 
 
 | 463 | virtually decompressing a compressed version of the dictionary | 
 
 
 
 
 | 464 | without producing any output. However for certain compression | 
 
 
 
 
 | 465 | algorithms such as the deflate algorithm this operation can be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 466 | achieved without actually performing any decompression. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 467 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 468 | The compressor and the decompressor must use exactly the same | 
 
 
 
 
 | 469 | dictionary. The dictionary may be fixed or may be chosen among a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 470 | certain number of predefined dictionaries, according to the kind | 
 
 
 
 
 | 471 | of input data. The decompressor can determine which dictionary has | 
 
 
 
 
 | 472 | been chosen by the compressor by checking the dictionary | 
 
 
 
 
 | 473 | identifier. This document does not specify the contents of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 474 | predefined dictionaries, since the optimal dictionaries are | 
 
 
 
 
 | 475 | application specific. Standard data formats using this feature of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 476 | the zlib specification must precisely define the allowed | 
 
 
 
 
 | 477 | dictionaries. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 478 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 479 | 8.2. The Adler-32 algorithm | 
 
 
 
 
 | 480 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 481 | The Adler-32 algorithm is much faster than the CRC32 algorithm yet | 
 
 
 
 
 | 482 | still provides an extremely low probability of undetected errors. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 483 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 484 | The modulo on unsigned long accumulators can be delayed for 5552 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 485 | bytes, so the modulo operation time is negligible.  If the bytes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 486 | are a, b, c, the second sum is 3a + 2b + c + 3, and so is position | 
 
 
 
 
 | 487 | and order sensitive, unlike the first sum, which is just a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 488 | checksum.  That 65521 is prime is important to avoid a possible | 
 
 
 
 
 | 489 | large class of two-byte errors that leave the check unchanged. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 490 | (The Fletcher checksum uses 255, which is not prime and which also | 
 
 
 
 
 | 491 | makes the Fletcher check insensitive to single byte changes 0 <-> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 492 | 255.) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 493 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 494 | The sum s1 is initialized to 1 instead of zero to make the length | 
 
 
 
 
 | 495 | of the sequence part of s2, so that the length does not have to be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 496 | checked separately. (Any sequence of zeroes has a Fletcher | 
 
 
 
 
 | 497 | checksum of zero.) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 498 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 499 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 500 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 501 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 502 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 503 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 504 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 505 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 506 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                      [Page 9] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 507 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 508 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 509 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 510 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 511 | 9. Appendix: Sample code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 512 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 513 | The following C code computes the Adler-32 checksum of a data buffer. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 514 | It is written for clarity, not for speed.  The sample code is in the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 515 | ANSI C programming language. Non C users may find it easier to read | 
 
 
 
 
 | 516 | with these hints: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 517 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 518 | &      Bitwise AND operator. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 519 | >>     Bitwise right shift operator. When applied to an | 
 
 
 
 
 | 520 | unsigned quantity, as here, right shift inserts zero bit(s) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 521 | at the left. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 522 | <<     Bitwise left shift operator. Left shift inserts zero | 
 
 
 
 
 | 523 | bit(s) at the right. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 524 | ++     "n++" increments the variable n. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 525 | %      modulo operator: a % b is the remainder of a divided by b. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 526 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 527 | #define BASE 65521 /* largest prime smaller than 65536 */ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 528 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 529 | /* | 
 
 
 
 
 | 530 | Update a running Adler-32 checksum with the bytes buf[0..len-1] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 531 | and return the updated checksum. The Adler-32 checksum should be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 532 | initialized to 1. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 533 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 534 | Usage example: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 535 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 536 | unsigned long adler = 1L; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 537 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 538 | while (read_buffer(buffer, length) != EOF) { | 
 
 
 
 
 | 539 | adler = update_adler32(adler, buffer, length); | 
 
 
 
 
 | 540 | } | 
 
 
 
 
 | 541 | if (adler != original_adler) error(); | 
 
 
 
 
 | 542 | */ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 543 | unsigned long update_adler32(unsigned long adler, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 544 | unsigned char *buf, int len) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 545 | { | 
 
 
 
 
 | 546 | unsigned long s1 = adler & 0xffff; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 547 | unsigned long s2 = (adler >> 16) & 0xffff; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 548 | int n; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 549 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 550 | for (n = 0; n < len; n++) { | 
 
 
 
 
 | 551 | s1 = (s1 + buf[n]) % BASE; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 552 | s2 = (s2 + s1)     % BASE; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 553 | } | 
 
 
 
 
 | 554 | return (s2 << 16) + s1; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 555 | } | 
 
 
 
 
 | 556 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 557 | /* Return the adler32 of the bytes buf[0..len-1] */ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 558 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 559 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 560 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 561 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 562 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                     [Page 10] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 563 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 564 | RFC 1950       ZLIB Compressed Data Format Specification        May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 565 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 566 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 567 | unsigned long adler32(unsigned char *buf, int len) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 568 | { | 
 
 
 
 
 | 569 | return update_adler32(1L, buf, len); | 
 
 
 
 
 | 570 | } | 
 
 
 
 
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 | 618 | Deutsch & Gailly             Informational                     [Page 11] | 
 
 
 
 
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