| 1 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 2 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 3 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 4 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 5 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 6 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 7 | Network Working Group                                         P. Deutsch | 
 
 
 
 
 | 8 | Request for Comments: 1951                           Aladdin Enterprises | 
 
 
 
 
 | 9 | Category: Informational                                         May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 10 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 11 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 12 | DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification version 1.3 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 13 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 14 | Status of This Memo | 
 
 
 
 
 | 15 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 16 | This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo | 
 
 
 
 
 | 17 | does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 18 | this memo is unlimited. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 19 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 20 | IESG Note: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 21 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 22 | The IESG takes no position on the validity of any Intellectual | 
 
 
 
 
 | 23 | Property Rights statements contained in this document. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 24 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 25 | Notices | 
 
 
 
 
 | 26 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 27 | Copyright (c) 1996 L. Peter Deutsch | 
 
 
 
 
 | 28 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 29 | Permission is granted to copy and distribute this document for any | 
 
 
 
 
 | 30 | purpose and without charge, including translations into other | 
 
 
 
 
 | 31 | languages and incorporation into compilations, provided that the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 32 | copyright notice and this notice are preserved, and that any | 
 
 
 
 
 | 33 | substantive changes or deletions from the original are clearly | 
 
 
 
 
 | 34 | marked. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 35 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 36 | A pointer to the latest version of this and related documentation in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 37 | HTML format can be found at the URL | 
 
 
 
 
 | 38 | <ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/png/documents/zlib/zdoc-index.html>. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 39 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 40 | Abstract | 
 
 
 
 
 | 41 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 42 | This specification defines a lossless compressed data format that | 
 
 
 
 
 | 43 | compresses data using a combination of the LZ77 algorithm and Huffman | 
 
 
 
 
 | 44 | coding, with efficiency comparable to the best currently available | 
 
 
 
 
 | 45 | general-purpose compression methods.  The data can be produced or | 
 
 
 
 
 | 46 | consumed, even for an arbitrarily long sequentially presented input | 
 
 
 
 
 | 47 | data stream, using only an a priori bounded amount of intermediate | 
 
 
 
 
 | 48 | storage.  The format can be implemented readily in a manner not | 
 
 
 
 
 | 49 | covered by patents. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 50 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 51 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 52 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 53 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 54 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 55 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 56 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 57 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 58 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 1] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 59 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 60 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE 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 ............................ 4 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 72 | 2. Compressed representation overview ............................. 4 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 73 | 3. Detailed specification ......................................... 5 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 74 | 3.1. Overall conventions ....................................... 5 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 75 | 3.1.1. Packing into bytes .................................. 5 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 76 | 3.2. Compressed block format ................................... 6 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 77 | 3.2.1. Synopsis of prefix and Huffman coding ............... 6 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 78 | 3.2.2. Use of Huffman coding in the "deflate" format ....... 7 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 79 | 3.2.3. Details of block format ............................. 9 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 80 | 3.2.4. Non-compressed blocks (BTYPE=00) ................... 11 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 81 | 3.2.5. Compressed blocks (length and distance codes) ...... 11 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 82 | 3.2.6. Compression with fixed Huffman codes (BTYPE=01) .... 12 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 83 | 3.2.7. Compression with dynamic Huffman codes (BTYPE=10) .. 13 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 84 | 3.3. Compliance ............................................... 14 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 85 | 4. Compression algorithm details ................................. 14 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 86 | 5. References .................................................... 16 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 87 | 6. Security Considerations ....................................... 16 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 88 | 7. Source code ................................................... 16 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 89 | 8. Acknowledgements .............................................. 16 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 90 | 9. Author's Address .............................................. 17 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 91 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 92 | 1. Introduction | 
 
 
 
 
 | 93 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 94 | 1.1. Purpose | 
 
 
 
 
 | 95 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 96 | The purpose of this specification is to define a lossless | 
 
 
 
 
 | 97 | compressed data format that: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 98 | * Is independent of CPU type, operating system, file system, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 99 | and character set, and hence can be used for interchange; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 100 | * Can be produced or consumed, even for an arbitrarily long | 
 
 
 
 
 | 101 | sequentially presented input data stream, using only an a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 102 | priori bounded amount of intermediate storage, and hence | 
 
 
 
 
 | 103 | can be used in data communications or similar structures | 
 
 
 
 
 | 104 | such as Unix filters; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 105 | * Compresses data with efficiency comparable to the best | 
 
 
 
 
 | 106 | currently available general-purpose compression methods, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 107 | and in particular considerably better than the "compress" | 
 
 
 
 
 | 108 | program; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 109 | * Can be implemented readily in a manner not covered by | 
 
 
 
 
 | 110 | patents, and hence can be practiced freely; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 111 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 112 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 113 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 114 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 2] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 115 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 116 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 117 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 118 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 119 | * Is compatible with the file format produced by the current | 
 
 
 
 
 | 120 | widely used gzip utility, in that conforming decompressors | 
 
 
 
 
 | 121 | will be able to read data produced by the existing gzip | 
 
 
 
 
 | 122 | compressor. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 123 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 124 | The data format defined by this specification does not attempt to: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 125 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 126 | * Allow random access to compressed data; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 127 | * Compress specialized data (e.g., raster graphics) as well | 
 
 
 
 
 | 128 | as the best currently available specialized algorithms. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 129 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 130 | A simple counting argument shows that no lossless compression | 
 
 
 
 
 | 131 | algorithm can compress every possible input data set.  For the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 132 | format defined here, the worst case expansion is 5 bytes per 32K- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 133 | byte block, i.e., a size increase of 0.015% for large data sets. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 134 | English text usually compresses by a factor of 2.5 to 3; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 135 | executable files usually compress somewhat less; graphical data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 136 | such as raster images may compress much more. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 137 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 138 | 1.2. Intended audience | 
 
 
 
 
 | 139 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 140 | This specification is intended for use by implementors of software | 
 
 
 
 
 | 141 | to compress data into "deflate" format and/or decompress data from | 
 
 
 
 
 | 142 | "deflate" format. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 143 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 144 | The text of the specification assumes a basic background in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 145 | programming at the level of bits and other primitive data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 146 | representations.  Familiarity with the technique of Huffman coding | 
 
 
 
 
 | 147 | is helpful but not required. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 148 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 149 | 1.3. Scope | 
 
 
 
 
 | 150 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 151 | The specification specifies a method for representing a sequence | 
 
 
 
 
 | 152 | of bytes as a (usually shorter) sequence of bits, and a method for | 
 
 
 
 
 | 153 | packing the latter bit sequence into bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 154 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 155 | 1.4. Compliance | 
 
 
 
 
 | 156 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 157 | Unless otherwise indicated below, a compliant decompressor must be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 158 | able to accept and decompress any data set that conforms to all | 
 
 
 
 
 | 159 | the specifications presented here; a compliant compressor must | 
 
 
 
 
 | 160 | produce data sets that conform to all the specifications presented | 
 
 
 
 
 | 161 | here. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 162 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 163 | 1.5.  Definitions of terms and conventions used | 
 
 
 
 
 | 164 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 165 | Byte: 8 bits stored or transmitted as a unit (same as an octet). | 
 
 
 
 
 | 166 | For this specification, a byte is exactly 8 bits, even on machines | 
 
 
 
 
 | 167 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 168 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 169 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 170 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 3] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 171 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 172 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 173 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 174 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 175 | which store a character on a number of bits different from eight. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 176 | See below, for the numbering of bits within a byte. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 177 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 178 | String: a sequence of arbitrary bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 179 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 180 | 1.6. Changes from previous versions | 
 
 
 
 
 | 181 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 182 | There have been no technical changes to the deflate format since | 
 
 
 
 
 | 183 | version 1.1 of this specification.  In version 1.2, some | 
 
 
 
 
 | 184 | terminology was changed.  Version 1.3 is a conversion of the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 185 | specification to RFC style. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 186 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 187 | 2. Compressed representation overview | 
 
 
 
 
 | 188 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 189 | A compressed data set consists of a series of blocks, corresponding | 
 
 
 
 
 | 190 | to successive blocks of input data.  The block sizes are arbitrary, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 191 | except that non-compressible blocks are limited to 65,535 bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 192 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 193 | Each block is compressed using a combination of the LZ77 algorithm | 
 
 
 
 
 | 194 | and Huffman coding. The Huffman trees for each block are independent | 
 
 
 
 
 | 195 | of those for previous or subsequent blocks; the LZ77 algorithm may | 
 
 
 
 
 | 196 | use a reference to a duplicated string occurring in a previous block, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 197 | up to 32K input bytes before. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 198 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 199 | Each block consists of two parts: a pair of Huffman code trees that | 
 
 
 
 
 | 200 | describe the representation of the compressed data part, and a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 201 | compressed data part.  (The Huffman trees themselves are compressed | 
 
 
 
 
 | 202 | using Huffman encoding.)  The compressed data consists of a series of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 203 | elements of two types: literal bytes (of strings that have not been | 
 
 
 
 
 | 204 | detected as duplicated within the previous 32K input bytes), and | 
 
 
 
 
 | 205 | pointers to duplicated strings, where a pointer is represented as a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 206 | pair <length, backward distance>.  The representation used in the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 207 | "deflate" format limits distances to 32K bytes and lengths to 258 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 208 | bytes, but does not limit the size of a block, except for | 
 
 
 
 
 | 209 | uncompressible blocks, which are limited as noted above. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 210 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 211 | Each type of value (literals, distances, and lengths) in the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 212 | compressed data is represented using a Huffman code, using one code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 213 | tree for literals and lengths and a separate code tree for distances. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 214 | The code trees for each block appear in a compact form just before | 
 
 
 
 
 | 215 | the compressed data for that block. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 216 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 217 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 218 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 219 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 220 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 221 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 222 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 223 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 224 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 225 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 226 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 4] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 227 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 228 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 229 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 230 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 231 | 3. Detailed specification | 
 
 
 
 
 | 232 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 233 | 3.1. Overall conventions In the diagrams below, a box like this: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 234 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 235 | +---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 236 | |   | <-- the vertical bars might be missing | 
 
 
 
 
 | 237 | +---+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 238 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 239 | represents one byte; a box like this: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 240 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 241 | +==============+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 242 | |              | | 
 
 
 
 
 | 243 | +==============+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 244 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 245 | represents a variable number of bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 246 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 247 | Bytes stored within a computer do not have a "bit order", since | 
 
 
 
 
 | 248 | they are always treated as a unit.  However, a byte considered as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 249 | an integer between 0 and 255 does have a most- and least- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 250 | significant bit, and since we write numbers with the most- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 251 | significant digit on the left, we also write bytes with the most- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 252 | significant bit on the left.  In the diagrams below, we number the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 253 | bits of a byte so that bit 0 is the least-significant bit, i.e., | 
 
 
 
 
 | 254 | the bits are numbered: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 255 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 256 | +--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 257 | |76543210| | 
 
 
 
 
 | 258 | +--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 259 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 260 | Within a computer, a number may occupy multiple bytes.  All | 
 
 
 
 
 | 261 | multi-byte numbers in the format described here are stored with | 
 
 
 
 
 | 262 | the least-significant byte first (at the lower memory address). | 
 
 
 
 
 | 263 | For example, the decimal number 520 is stored as: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 264 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 265 | 0        1 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 266 | +--------+--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 267 | |00001000|00000010| | 
 
 
 
 
 | 268 | +--------+--------+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 269 | ^        ^ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 270 | |        | | 
 
 
 
 
 | 271 | |        + more significant byte = 2 x 256 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 272 | + less significant byte = 8 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 273 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 274 | 3.1.1. Packing into bytes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 275 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 276 | This document does not address the issue of the order in which | 
 
 
 
 
 | 277 | bits of a byte are transmitted on a bit-sequential medium, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 278 | since the final data format described here is byte- rather than | 
 
 
 
 
 | 279 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 280 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 281 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 282 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 5] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 283 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 284 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 285 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 286 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 287 | bit-oriented.  However, we describe the compressed block format | 
 
 
 
 
 | 288 | in below, as a sequence of data elements of various bit | 
 
 
 
 
 | 289 | lengths, not a sequence of bytes.  We must therefore specify | 
 
 
 
 
 | 290 | how to pack these data elements into bytes to form the final | 
 
 
 
 
 | 291 | compressed byte sequence: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 292 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 293 | * Data elements are packed into bytes in order of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 294 | increasing bit number within the byte, i.e., starting | 
 
 
 
 
 | 295 | with the least-significant bit of the byte. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 296 | * Data elements other than Huffman codes are packed | 
 
 
 
 
 | 297 | starting with the least-significant bit of the data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 298 | element. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 299 | * Huffman codes are packed starting with the most- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 300 | significant bit of the code. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 301 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 302 | In other words, if one were to print out the compressed data as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 303 | a sequence of bytes, starting with the first byte at the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 304 | *right* margin and proceeding to the *left*, with the most- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 305 | significant bit of each byte on the left as usual, one would be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 306 | able to parse the result from right to left, with fixed-width | 
 
 
 
 
 | 307 | elements in the correct MSB-to-LSB order and Huffman codes in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 308 | bit-reversed order (i.e., with the first bit of the code in the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 309 | relative LSB position). | 
 
 
 
 
 | 310 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 311 | 3.2. Compressed block format | 
 
 
 
 
 | 312 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 313 | 3.2.1. Synopsis of prefix and Huffman coding | 
 
 
 
 
 | 314 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 315 | Prefix coding represents symbols from an a priori known | 
 
 
 
 
 | 316 | alphabet by bit sequences (codes), one code for each symbol, in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 317 | a manner such that different symbols may be represented by bit | 
 
 
 
 
 | 318 | sequences of different lengths, but a parser can always parse | 
 
 
 
 
 | 319 | an encoded string unambiguously symbol-by-symbol. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 320 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 321 | We define a prefix code in terms of a binary tree in which the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 322 | two edges descending from each non-leaf node are labeled 0 and | 
 
 
 
 
 | 323 | 1 and in which the leaf nodes correspond one-for-one with (are | 
 
 
 
 
 | 324 | labeled with) the symbols of the alphabet; then the code for a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 325 | symbol is the sequence of 0's and 1's on the edges leading from | 
 
 
 
 
 | 326 | the root to the leaf labeled with that symbol.  For example: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 327 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 328 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 329 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 330 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 331 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 332 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 333 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 334 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 335 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 336 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 337 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 338 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 6] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 339 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 340 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 341 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 342 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 343 | /\              Symbol    Code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 344 | 0  1             ------    ---- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 345 | /    \                A      00 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 346 | /\     B               B       1 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 347 | 0  1                    C     011 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 348 | /    \                   D     010 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 349 | A     /\ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 350 | 0  1 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 351 | /    \ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 352 | D      C | 
 
 
 
 
 | 353 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 354 | A parser can decode the next symbol from an encoded input | 
 
 
 
 
 | 355 | stream by walking down the tree from the root, at each step | 
 
 
 
 
 | 356 | choosing the edge corresponding to the next input bit. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 357 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 358 | Given an alphabet with known symbol frequencies, the Huffman | 
 
 
 
 
 | 359 | algorithm allows the construction of an optimal prefix code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 360 | (one which represents strings with those symbol frequencies | 
 
 
 
 
 | 361 | using the fewest bits of any possible prefix codes for that | 
 
 
 
 
 | 362 | alphabet).  Such a code is called a Huffman code.  (See | 
 
 
 
 
 | 363 | reference [1] in Chapter 5, references for additional | 
 
 
 
 
 | 364 | information on Huffman codes.) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 365 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 366 | Note that in the "deflate" format, the Huffman codes for the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 367 | various alphabets must not exceed certain maximum code lengths. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 368 | This constraint complicates the algorithm for computing code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 369 | lengths from symbol frequencies.  Again, see Chapter 5, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 370 | references for details. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 371 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 372 | 3.2.2. Use of Huffman coding in the "deflate" format | 
 
 
 
 
 | 373 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 374 | The Huffman codes used for each alphabet in the "deflate" | 
 
 
 
 
 | 375 | format have two additional rules: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 376 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 377 | * All codes of a given bit length have lexicographically | 
 
 
 
 
 | 378 | consecutive values, in the same order as the symbols | 
 
 
 
 
 | 379 | they represent; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 380 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 381 | * Shorter codes lexicographically precede longer codes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 382 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 383 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 384 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 385 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 386 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 387 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 388 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 389 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 390 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 391 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 392 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 393 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 394 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 7] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 395 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 396 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 397 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 398 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 399 | We could recode the example above to follow this rule as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 400 | follows, assuming that the order of the alphabet is ABCD: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 401 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 402 | Symbol  Code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 403 | ------  ---- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 404 | A       10 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 405 | B       0 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 406 | C       110 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 407 | D       111 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 408 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 409 | I.e., 0 precedes 10 which precedes 11x, and 110 and 111 are | 
 
 
 
 
 | 410 | lexicographically consecutive. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 411 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 412 | Given this rule, we can define the Huffman code for an alphabet | 
 
 
 
 
 | 413 | just by giving the bit lengths of the codes for each symbol of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 414 | the alphabet in order; this is sufficient to determine the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 415 | actual codes.  In our example, the code is completely defined | 
 
 
 
 
 | 416 | by the sequence of bit lengths (2, 1, 3, 3).  The following | 
 
 
 
 
 | 417 | algorithm generates the codes as integers, intended to be read | 
 
 
 
 
 | 418 | from most- to least-significant bit.  The code lengths are | 
 
 
 
 
 | 419 | initially in tree[I].Len; the codes are produced in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 420 | tree[I].Code. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 421 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 422 | 1)  Count the number of codes for each code length.  Let | 
 
 
 
 
 | 423 | bl_count[N] be the number of codes of length N, N >= 1. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 424 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 425 | 2)  Find the numerical value of the smallest code for each | 
 
 
 
 
 | 426 | code length: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 427 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 428 | code = 0; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 429 | bl_count[0] = 0; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 430 | for (bits = 1; bits <= MAX_BITS; bits++) { | 
 
 
 
 
 | 431 | code = (code + bl_count[bits-1]) << 1; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 432 | next_code[bits] = code; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 433 | } | 
 
 
 
 
 | 434 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 435 | 3)  Assign numerical values to all codes, using consecutive | 
 
 
 
 
 | 436 | values for all codes of the same length with the base | 
 
 
 
 
 | 437 | values determined at step 2. Codes that are never used | 
 
 
 
 
 | 438 | (which have a bit length of zero) must not be assigned a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 439 | value. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 440 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 441 | for (n = 0;  n <= max_code; n++) { | 
 
 
 
 
 | 442 | len = tree[n].Len; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 443 | if (len != 0) { | 
 
 
 
 
 | 444 | tree[n].Code = next_code[len]; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 445 | next_code[len]++; | 
 
 
 
 
 | 446 | } | 
 
 
 
 
 | 447 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 448 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 449 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 450 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 8] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 451 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 452 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 453 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 454 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 455 | } | 
 
 
 
 
 | 456 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 457 | Example: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 458 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 459 | Consider the alphabet ABCDEFGH, with bit lengths (3, 3, 3, 3, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 460 | 3, 2, 4, 4).  After step 1, we have: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 461 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 462 | N      bl_count[N] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 463 | -      ----------- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 464 | 2      1 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 465 | 3      5 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 466 | 4      2 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 467 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 468 | Step 2 computes the following next_code values: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 469 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 470 | N      next_code[N] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 471 | -      ------------ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 472 | 1      0 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 473 | 2      0 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 474 | 3      2 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 475 | 4      14 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 476 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 477 | Step 3 produces the following code values: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 478 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 479 | Symbol Length   Code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 480 | ------ ------   ---- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 481 | A       3        010 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 482 | B       3        011 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 483 | C       3        100 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 484 | D       3        101 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 485 | E       3        110 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 486 | F       2         00 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 487 | G       4       1110 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 488 | H       4       1111 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 489 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 490 | 3.2.3. Details of block format | 
 
 
 
 
 | 491 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 492 | Each block of compressed data begins with 3 header bits | 
 
 
 
 
 | 493 | containing the following data: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 494 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 495 | first bit       BFINAL | 
 
 
 
 
 | 496 | next 2 bits     BTYPE | 
 
 
 
 
 | 497 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 498 | Note that the header bits do not necessarily begin on a byte | 
 
 
 
 
 | 499 | boundary, since a block does not necessarily occupy an integral | 
 
 
 
 
 | 500 | number of bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 501 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 502 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 503 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 504 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 505 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 506 | Deutsch                      Informational                      [Page 9] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 507 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 508 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 509 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 510 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 511 | BFINAL is set if and only if this is the last block of the data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 512 | set. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 513 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 514 | BTYPE specifies how the data are compressed, as follows: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 515 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 516 | 00 - no compression | 
 
 
 
 
 | 517 | 01 - compressed with fixed Huffman codes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 518 | 10 - compressed with dynamic Huffman codes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 519 | 11 - reserved (error) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 520 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 521 | The only difference between the two compressed cases is how the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 522 | Huffman codes for the literal/length and distance alphabets are | 
 
 
 
 
 | 523 | defined. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 524 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 525 | In all cases, the decoding algorithm for the actual data is as | 
 
 
 
 
 | 526 | follows: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 527 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 528 | do | 
 
 
 
 
 | 529 | read block header from input stream. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 530 | if stored with no compression | 
 
 
 
 
 | 531 | skip any remaining bits in current partially | 
 
 
 
 
 | 532 | processed byte | 
 
 
 
 
 | 533 | read LEN and NLEN (see next section) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 534 | copy LEN bytes of data to output | 
 
 
 
 
 | 535 | otherwise | 
 
 
 
 
 | 536 | if compressed with dynamic Huffman codes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 537 | read representation of code trees (see | 
 
 
 
 
 | 538 | subsection below) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 539 | loop (until end of block code recognized) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 540 | decode literal/length value from input stream | 
 
 
 
 
 | 541 | if value < 256 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 542 | copy value (literal byte) to output stream | 
 
 
 
 
 | 543 | otherwise | 
 
 
 
 
 | 544 | if value = end of block (256) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 545 | break from loop | 
 
 
 
 
 | 546 | otherwise (value = 257..285) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 547 | decode distance from input stream | 
 
 
 
 
 | 548 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 549 | move backwards distance bytes in the output | 
 
 
 
 
 | 550 | stream, and copy length bytes from this | 
 
 
 
 
 | 551 | position to the output stream. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 552 | end loop | 
 
 
 
 
 | 553 | while not last block | 
 
 
 
 
 | 554 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 555 | Note that a duplicated string reference may refer to a string | 
 
 
 
 
 | 556 | in a previous block; i.e., the backward distance may cross one | 
 
 
 
 
 | 557 | or more block boundaries.  However a distance cannot refer past | 
 
 
 
 
 | 558 | the beginning of the output stream.  (An application using a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 559 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 560 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 561 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 562 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 10] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 563 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 564 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 565 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 566 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 567 | preset dictionary might discard part of the output stream; a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 568 | distance can refer to that part of the output stream anyway) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 569 | Note also that the referenced string may overlap the current | 
 
 
 
 
 | 570 | position; for example, if the last 2 bytes decoded have values | 
 
 
 
 
 | 571 | X and Y, a string reference with <length = 5, distance = 2> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 572 | adds X,Y,X,Y,X to the output stream. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 573 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 574 | We now specify each compression method in turn. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 575 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 576 | 3.2.4. Non-compressed blocks (BTYPE=00) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 577 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 578 | Any bits of input up to the next byte boundary are ignored. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 579 | The rest of the block consists of the following information: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 580 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 581 | 0   1   2   3   4... | 
 
 
 
 
 | 582 | +---+---+---+---+================================+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 583 | |  LEN  | NLEN  |... LEN bytes of literal data...| | 
 
 
 
 
 | 584 | +---+---+---+---+================================+ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 585 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 586 | LEN is the number of data bytes in the block.  NLEN is the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 587 | one's complement of LEN. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 588 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 589 | 3.2.5. Compressed blocks (length and distance codes) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 590 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 591 | As noted above, encoded data blocks in the "deflate" format | 
 
 
 
 
 | 592 | consist of sequences of symbols drawn from three conceptually | 
 
 
 
 
 | 593 | distinct alphabets: either literal bytes, from the alphabet of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 594 | byte values (0..255), or <length, backward distance> pairs, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 595 | where the length is drawn from (3..258) and the distance is | 
 
 
 
 
 | 596 | drawn from (1..32,768).  In fact, the literal and length | 
 
 
 
 
 | 597 | alphabets are merged into a single alphabet (0..285), where | 
 
 
 
 
 | 598 | values 0..255 represent literal bytes, the value 256 indicates | 
 
 
 
 
 | 599 | end-of-block, and values 257..285 represent length codes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 600 | (possibly in conjunction with extra bits following the symbol | 
 
 
 
 
 | 601 | code) as follows: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 602 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 603 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 604 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 605 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 606 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 607 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 608 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 609 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 610 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 611 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 612 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 613 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 614 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 615 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 616 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 617 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 618 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 11] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 619 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 620 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 621 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 622 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 623 | Extra               Extra               Extra | 
 
 
 
 
 | 624 | Code Bits Length(s) Code Bits Lengths   Code Bits Length(s) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 625 | ---- ---- ------     ---- ---- -------   ---- ---- ------- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 626 | 257   0     3       267   1   15,16     277   4   67-82 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 627 | 258   0     4       268   1   17,18     278   4   83-98 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 628 | 259   0     5       269   2   19-22     279   4   99-114 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 629 | 260   0     6       270   2   23-26     280   4  115-130 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 630 | 261   0     7       271   2   27-30     281   5  131-162 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 631 | 262   0     8       272   2   31-34     282   5  163-194 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 632 | 263   0     9       273   3   35-42     283   5  195-226 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 633 | 264   0    10       274   3   43-50     284   5  227-257 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 634 | 265   1  11,12      275   3   51-58     285   0    258 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 635 | 266   1  13,14      276   3   59-66 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 636 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 637 | The extra bits should be interpreted as a machine integer | 
 
 
 
 
 | 638 | stored with the most-significant bit first, e.g., bits 1110 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 639 | represent the value 14. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 640 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 641 | Extra           Extra               Extra | 
 
 
 
 
 | 642 | Code Bits Dist  Code Bits   Dist     Code Bits Distance | 
 
 
 
 
 | 643 | ---- ---- ----  ---- ----  ------    ---- ---- -------- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 644 | 0   0    1     10   4     33-48    20    9   1025-1536 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 645 | 1   0    2     11   4     49-64    21    9   1537-2048 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 646 | 2   0    3     12   5     65-96    22   10   2049-3072 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 647 | 3   0    4     13   5     97-128   23   10   3073-4096 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 648 | 4   1   5,6    14   6    129-192   24   11   4097-6144 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 649 | 5   1   7,8    15   6    193-256   25   11   6145-8192 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 650 | 6   2   9-12   16   7    257-384   26   12  8193-12288 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 651 | 7   2  13-16   17   7    385-512   27   12 12289-16384 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 652 | 8   3  17-24   18   8    513-768   28   13 16385-24576 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 653 | 9   3  25-32   19   8   769-1024   29   13 24577-32768 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 654 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 655 | 3.2.6. Compression with fixed Huffman codes (BTYPE=01) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 656 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 657 | The Huffman codes for the two alphabets are fixed, and are not | 
 
 
 
 
 | 658 | represented explicitly in the data.  The Huffman code lengths | 
 
 
 
 
 | 659 | for the literal/length alphabet are: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 660 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 661 | Lit Value    Bits        Codes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 662 | ---------    ----        ----- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 663 | 0 - 143     8          00110000 through | 
 
 
 
 
 | 664 | 10111111 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 665 | 144 - 255     9          110010000 through | 
 
 
 
 
 | 666 | 111111111 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 667 | 256 - 279     7          0000000 through | 
 
 
 
 
 | 668 | 0010111 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 669 | 280 - 287     8          11000000 through | 
 
 
 
 
 | 670 | 11000111 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 671 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 672 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 673 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 674 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 12] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 675 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 676 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 677 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 678 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 679 | The code lengths are sufficient to generate the actual codes, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 680 | as described above; we show the codes in the table for added | 
 
 
 
 
 | 681 | clarity.  Literal/length values 286-287 will never actually | 
 
 
 
 
 | 682 | occur in the compressed data, but participate in the code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 683 | construction. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 684 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 685 | Distance codes 0-31 are represented by (fixed-length) 5-bit | 
 
 
 
 
 | 686 | codes, with possible additional bits as shown in the table | 
 
 
 
 
 | 687 | shown in Paragraph 3.2.5, above.  Note that distance codes 30- | 
 
 
 
 
 | 688 | 31 will never actually occur in the compressed data. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 689 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 690 | 3.2.7. Compression with dynamic Huffman codes (BTYPE=10) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 691 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 692 | The Huffman codes for the two alphabets appear in the block | 
 
 
 
 
 | 693 | immediately after the header bits and before the actual | 
 
 
 
 
 | 694 | compressed data, first the literal/length code and then the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 695 | distance code.  Each code is defined by a sequence of code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 696 | lengths, as discussed in Paragraph 3.2.2, above.  For even | 
 
 
 
 
 | 697 | greater compactness, the code length sequences themselves are | 
 
 
 
 
 | 698 | compressed using a Huffman code.  The alphabet for code lengths | 
 
 
 
 
 | 699 | is as follows: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 700 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 701 | 0 - 15: Represent code lengths of 0 - 15 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 702 | 16: Copy the previous code length 3 - 6 times. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 703 | The next 2 bits indicate repeat length | 
 
 
 
 
 | 704 | (0 = 3, ... , 3 = 6) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 705 | Example:  Codes 8, 16 (+2 bits 11), | 
 
 
 
 
 | 706 | 16 (+2 bits 10) will expand to | 
 
 
 
 
 | 707 | 12 code lengths of 8 (1 + 6 + 5) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 708 | 17: Repeat a code length of 0 for 3 - 10 times. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 709 | (3 bits of length) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 710 | 18: Repeat a code length of 0 for 11 - 138 times | 
 
 
 
 
 | 711 | (7 bits of length) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 712 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 713 | A code length of 0 indicates that the corresponding symbol in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 714 | the literal/length or distance alphabet will not occur in the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 715 | block, and should not participate in the Huffman code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 716 | construction algorithm given earlier.  If only one distance | 
 
 
 
 
 | 717 | code is used, it is encoded using one bit, not zero bits; in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 718 | this case there is a single code length of one, with one unused | 
 
 
 
 
 | 719 | code.  One distance code of zero bits means that there are no | 
 
 
 
 
 | 720 | distance codes used at all (the data is all literals). | 
 
 
 
 
 | 721 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 722 | We can now define the format of the block: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 723 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 724 | 5 Bits: HLIT, # of Literal/Length codes - 257 (257 - 286) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 725 | 5 Bits: HDIST, # of Distance codes - 1        (1 - 32) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 726 | 4 Bits: HCLEN, # of Code Length codes - 4     (4 - 19) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 727 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 728 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 729 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 730 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 13] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 731 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 732 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 733 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 734 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 735 | (HCLEN + 4) x 3 bits: code lengths for the code length | 
 
 
 
 
 | 736 | alphabet given just above, in the order: 16, 17, 18, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 737 | 0, 8, 7, 9, 6, 10, 5, 11, 4, 12, 3, 13, 2, 14, 1, 15 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 738 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 739 | These code lengths are interpreted as 3-bit integers | 
 
 
 
 
 | 740 | (0-7); as above, a code length of 0 means the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 741 | corresponding symbol (literal/length or distance code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 742 | length) is not used. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 743 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 744 | HLIT + 257 code lengths for the literal/length alphabet, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 745 | encoded using the code length Huffman code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 746 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 747 | HDIST + 1 code lengths for the distance alphabet, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 748 | encoded using the code length Huffman code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 749 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 750 | The actual compressed data of the block, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 751 | encoded using the literal/length and distance Huffman | 
 
 
 
 
 | 752 | codes | 
 
 
 
 
 | 753 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 754 | The literal/length symbol 256 (end of data), | 
 
 
 
 
 | 755 | encoded using the literal/length Huffman code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 756 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 757 | The code length repeat codes can cross from HLIT + 257 to the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 758 | HDIST + 1 code lengths.  In other words, all code lengths form | 
 
 
 
 
 | 759 | a single sequence of HLIT + HDIST + 258 values. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 760 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 761 | 3.3. Compliance | 
 
 
 
 
 | 762 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 763 | A compressor may limit further the ranges of values specified in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 764 | the previous section and still be compliant; for example, it may | 
 
 
 
 
 | 765 | limit the range of backward pointers to some value smaller than | 
 
 
 
 
 | 766 | 32K.  Similarly, a compressor may limit the size of blocks so that | 
 
 
 
 
 | 767 | a compressible block fits in memory. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 768 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 769 | A compliant decompressor must accept the full range of possible | 
 
 
 
 
 | 770 | values defined in the previous section, and must accept blocks of | 
 
 
 
 
 | 771 | arbitrary size. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 772 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 773 | 4. Compression algorithm details | 
 
 
 
 
 | 774 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 775 | While it is the intent of this document to define the "deflate" | 
 
 
 
 
 | 776 | compressed data format without reference to any particular | 
 
 
 
 
 | 777 | compression algorithm, the format is related to the compressed | 
 
 
 
 
 | 778 | formats produced by LZ77 (Lempel-Ziv 1977, see reference [2] below); | 
 
 
 
 
 | 779 | since many variations of LZ77 are patented, it is strongly | 
 
 
 
 
 | 780 | recommended that the implementor of a compressor follow the general | 
 
 
 
 
 | 781 | algorithm presented here, which is known not to be patented per se. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 782 | The material in this section is not part of the definition of the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 783 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 784 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 785 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 786 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 14] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 787 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 788 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 789 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 790 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 791 | specification per se, and a compressor need not follow it in order to | 
 
 
 
 
 | 792 | be compliant. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 793 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 794 | The compressor terminates a block when it determines that starting a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 795 | new block with fresh trees would be useful, or when the block size | 
 
 
 
 
 | 796 | fills up the compressor's block buffer. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 797 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 798 | The compressor uses a chained hash table to find duplicated strings, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 799 | using a hash function that operates on 3-byte sequences.  At any | 
 
 
 
 
 | 800 | given point during compression, let XYZ be the next 3 input bytes to | 
 
 
 
 
 | 801 | be examined (not necessarily all different, of course).  First, the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 802 | compressor examines the hash chain for XYZ.  If the chain is empty, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 803 | the compressor simply writes out X as a literal byte and advances one | 
 
 
 
 
 | 804 | byte in the input.  If the hash chain is not empty, indicating that | 
 
 
 
 
 | 805 | the sequence XYZ (or, if we are unlucky, some other 3 bytes with the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 806 | same hash function value) has occurred recently, the compressor | 
 
 
 
 
 | 807 | compares all strings on the XYZ hash chain with the actual input data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 808 | sequence starting at the current point, and selects the longest | 
 
 
 
 
 | 809 | match. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 810 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 811 | The compressor searches the hash chains starting with the most recent | 
 
 
 
 
 | 812 | strings, to favor small distances and thus take advantage of the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 813 | Huffman encoding.  The hash chains are singly linked. There are no | 
 
 
 
 
 | 814 | deletions from the hash chains; the algorithm simply discards matches | 
 
 
 
 
 | 815 | that are too old.  To avoid a worst-case situation, very long hash | 
 
 
 
 
 | 816 | chains are arbitrarily truncated at a certain length, determined by a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 817 | run-time parameter. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 818 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 819 | To improve overall compression, the compressor optionally defers the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 820 | selection of matches ("lazy matching"): after a match of length N has | 
 
 
 
 
 | 821 | been found, the compressor searches for a longer match starting at | 
 
 
 
 
 | 822 | the next input byte.  If it finds a longer match, it truncates the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 823 | previous match to a length of one (thus producing a single literal | 
 
 
 
 
 | 824 | byte) and then emits the longer match.  Otherwise, it emits the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 825 | original match, and, as described above, advances N bytes before | 
 
 
 
 
 | 826 | continuing. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 827 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 828 | Run-time parameters also control this "lazy match" procedure.  If | 
 
 
 
 
 | 829 | compression ratio is most important, the compressor attempts a | 
 
 
 
 
 | 830 | complete second search regardless of the length of the first match. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 831 | In the normal case, if the current match is "long enough", the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 832 | compressor reduces the search for a longer match, thus speeding up | 
 
 
 
 
 | 833 | the process.  If speed is most important, the compressor inserts new | 
 
 
 
 
 | 834 | strings in the hash table only when no match was found, or when the | 
 
 
 
 
 | 835 | match is not "too long".  This degrades the compression ratio but | 
 
 
 
 
 | 836 | saves time since there are both fewer insertions and fewer searches. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 837 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 838 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 839 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 840 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 841 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 842 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 15] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 843 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 844 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 845 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 846 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 847 | 5. References | 
 
 
 
 
 | 848 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 849 | [1] Huffman, D. A., "A Method for the Construction of Minimum | 
 
 
 
 
 | 850 | Redundancy Codes", Proceedings of the Institute of Radio | 
 
 
 
 
 | 851 | Engineers, September 1952, Volume 40, Number 9, pp. 1098-1101. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 852 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 853 | [2] Ziv J., Lempel A., "A Universal Algorithm for Sequential Data | 
 
 
 
 
 | 854 | Compression", IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 23, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 855 | No. 3, pp. 337-343. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 856 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 857 | [3] Gailly, J.-L., and Adler, M., ZLIB documentation and sources, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 858 | available in ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/doc/ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 859 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 860 | [4] Gailly, J.-L., and Adler, M., GZIP documentation and sources, | 
 
 
 
 
 | 861 | available as gzip-*.tar in ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/ | 
 
 
 
 
 | 862 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 863 | [5] Schwartz, E. S., and Kallick, B. "Generating a canonical prefix | 
 
 
 
 
 | 864 | encoding." Comm. ACM, 7,3 (Mar. 1964), pp. 166-169. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 865 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 866 | [6] Hirschberg and Lelewer, "Efficient decoding of prefix codes," | 
 
 
 
 
 | 867 | Comm. ACM, 33,4, April 1990, pp. 449-459. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 868 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 869 | 6. Security Considerations | 
 
 
 
 
 | 870 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 871 | Any data compression method involves the reduction of redundancy in | 
 
 
 
 
 | 872 | the data.  Consequently, any corruption of the data is likely to have | 
 
 
 
 
 | 873 | severe effects and be difficult to correct.  Uncompressed text, on | 
 
 
 
 
 | 874 | the other hand, will probably still be readable despite the presence | 
 
 
 
 
 | 875 | of some corrupted bytes. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 876 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 877 | It is recommended that systems using this data format provide some | 
 
 
 
 
 | 878 | means of validating the integrity of the compressed data.  See | 
 
 
 
 
 | 879 | reference [3], for example. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 880 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 881 | 7. Source code | 
 
 
 
 
 | 882 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 883 | Source code for a C language implementation of a "deflate" compliant | 
 
 
 
 
 | 884 | compressor and decompressor is available within the zlib package at | 
 
 
 
 
 | 885 | ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/zlib/. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 886 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 887 | 8. Acknowledgements | 
 
 
 
 
 | 888 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 889 | Trademarks cited in this document are the property of their | 
 
 
 
 
 | 890 | respective owners. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 891 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 892 | Phil Katz designed the deflate format.  Jean-Loup Gailly and Mark | 
 
 
 
 
 | 893 | Adler wrote the related software described in this specification. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 894 | Glenn Randers-Pehrson converted this document to RFC and HTML format. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 895 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 896 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 897 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 898 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 16] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 899 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 900 | RFC 1951      DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification      May 1996 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 901 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 902 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 903 | 9. Author's Address | 
 
 
 
 
 | 904 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 905 | L. Peter Deutsch | 
 
 
 
 
 | 906 | Aladdin Enterprises | 
 
 
 
 
 | 907 | 203 Santa Margarita Ave. | 
 
 
 
 
 | 908 | Menlo Park, CA 94025 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 909 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 910 | Phone: (415) 322-0103 (AM only) | 
 
 
 
 
 | 911 | FAX:   (415) 322-1734 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 912 | EMail: <ghost@aladdin.com> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 913 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 914 | Questions about the technical content of this specification can be | 
 
 
 
 
 | 915 | sent by email to: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 916 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 917 | Jean-Loup Gailly <gzip@prep.ai.mit.edu> and | 
 
 
 
 
 | 918 | Mark Adler <madler@alumni.caltech.edu> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 919 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 920 | Editorial comments on this specification can be sent by email to: | 
 
 
 
 
 | 921 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 922 | L. Peter Deutsch <ghost@aladdin.com> and | 
 
 
 
 
 | 923 | Glenn Randers-Pehrson <randeg@alumni.rpi.edu> | 
 
 
 
 
 | 924 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 925 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 926 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 927 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 928 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 929 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 930 |  | 
 
 
 
 
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 | 950 |  | 
 
 
 
 
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 | 953 |  | 
 
 
 
 
 | 954 | Deutsch                      Informational                     [Page 17] | 
 
 
 
 
 | 955 |  |