zlib is an open-source, cross-platform data compression library. It was created by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler as a general-purpose abstraction of the DEFLATE compression algorithm used in their gzip file compression program. Open source denotes that the origins of a product are publicly accessible in part or in whole. ... A cross-platform (or platform independent) programming language, software application or hardware device works on more than one system platform (e. ... In computer science, data compression or source coding is the process of encoding information using fewer bits (or other information-bearing units) than a more obvious representation would use, through use of specific encoding schemes. ... DEFLATE is a lossless data compression algorithm that uses a combination of the LZ77 algorithm and Huffman coding. ... Flowcharts are often used to represent algorithms. ... gzip is short for GNU zip, a GNU free software replacement for the Unix compress program. ...

zlib has become something of a de facto standard, to the point that zlib and DEFLATE are often used interchangeably in standards documents. Hundreds of applications for Unix-like operating systems (such as Linux) rely on it for compression and it is increasingly used on other platforms, such as Microsoft Windows. A few of its applications are: De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... Tux, a cartoon penguin frequently featured sitting, is the official Linux mascot. ... // Microsoft Windows is a range of operating environments for personal computers and servers. ...

• The Linux kernel, where it is used to implement compressed network protocols, compressed file systems and to decompress the kernel image itself at boot time.
• libpng, the reference implementation for the PNG image format, which specifies DEFLATE as the stream compression for its bitmap data.
• The Apache HTTP server, which uses zlib to implement HTTP/1.1 compression.
• The KHAPI HTTP Library, which uses zlib to implement HTTP compression.
• The OpenSSH client and server, which rely on zlib to perform the optional compression offered by the SSH protocol.
• The GnuTLS security library, which can optionally use zlib to compress TLS connections.

zlib is also used in many embedded devices because the code is portable and because the library has a relatively small memory footprint. It has been suggested that Kernel and its variants be merged into this article or section. ... In computing, a file system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them. ... PNG (Portable Network Graphics), officially pronounced as ping ( in IPA) though often said spelt out, is a lossless bitmap image format that is popular on the World Wide Web and elsewhere. ... For the use of the term raster in radio regulation, see frequency raster. ... Apache HTTP Server is an open source HTTP web server for Unix-like systems (BSD, Linux, and UNIX systems), Microsoft Windows, Novell Netware and other platforms. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... OpenSSH (Open Secure Shell), a set of computer programs providing encrypted communication sessions over a computer network, was created as an open alternative to Secure Shell (SSH). ... In computing, Secure shell, or SSH, is both a computer program and an associated network protocol designed for logging into and executing commands on a remote computer. ... GnuTLS, the GNU Transport Layer Security Library, is a free software implementation of the SSL and TLS protocols. ... Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS), its successor, are cryptographic protocols which provide secure communications on the Internet. ...

See also

• gzip

gzip is short for GNU zip, a GNU free software replacement for the Unix compress program. ...

External links

• zlib homepage