File package

Zip? I assume there must be lots of .NET libraries for it, and it's able to store uncompressed files in case the standard decompression hurts performance.

Thanks, aren't there licensing issues from using zip?

Not that I am aware of - the only issues seem to be with an uncommon compression method affected by the LZW patent, and with the fancy new PKWARE features (strong encryption, patching) that nobody else appears to use. The usual Deflate algorithm (as implemented by e.g. Zlib) appears to be completely free, and the Zip format is used by lots of commercial and open source programs, and by the Java SDK, etc, without anyone being affected by licensing problems.


Or you could make up your own format - all it really needs is a table of [filename, size, offset of data in packed file] and then the file data, and to open a file you look up the offset+size in the table to see which part of the file to read. But then it's more awkward to examine or manipulate the packed file with standard tools, compared to a format like Zip.

Try the LZMA SDK.

Quote:

LZMA SDK is available under any of the following licenses: 1. GNU Lesser General Public License (GNU LGPL) 2. Common Public License (CPL) 3. Simplified license for unmodified code (read SPECIAL EXCEPTION) 4. Proprietary license

http://www.7-zip.org/sdk.html
http://www.7-zip.org/

Thanks. Forgot this thread exists here [smile]