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.NET Framework 3.5
DeflateStream Class
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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
DeflateStream Class

Updated: November 2007

Provides methods and properties for compressing and decompressing streams using the Deflate algorithm.

Namespace:  System.IO.Compression
Assembly:  System (in System.dll)

Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Class DeflateStream _
    Inherits Stream
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As DeflateStream
C#
public class DeflateStream : Stream
Visual C++
public ref class DeflateStream : public Stream
J#
public class DeflateStream extends Stream
JScript
public class DeflateStream extends Stream

This class represents the Deflate algorithm, an industry standard algorithm for lossless file compression and decompression. It uses a combination of the LZ77 algorithm and Huffman coding. Data can be produced or consumed, even for an arbitrarily long, sequentially presented input data stream, using only previously bound amount of intermediate storage. The format can be implemented readily in a manner not covered by patents. For more information, see RFC 1951. "DEFLATE Compressed Data Format Specification version 1.3." This class cannot be used to compress files larger than 4 GB.

This class does not inherently provide functionality for adding files to or extracting files from .zip archives. For an example of manipulating compressed file archives, see Compression Application Sample.

The GZipStream class uses the gzip data format, which includes a cyclic redundancy check value for detecting data corruption. The gzip data format uses the same compression algorithm as the DeflateStream class.

The compression functionality in DeflateStream and GZipStream is exposed as a stream. Data is read in on a byte-by-byte basis, so it is not possible to perform multiple passes to determine the best method for compressing entire files or large blocks of data. The DeflateStream and GZipStream classes are best used on uncompressed sources of data. If the source data is already compressed, using these classes may actually increase the size of the stream.

The following code example shows how to use the DeflateStream class to compress and decompress a file.

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.IO.Compression



Public Class DeflateTest
    Shared msg As String
   Public Shared Function ReadAllBytesFromStream(stream As Stream, buffer() As Byte) As Integer
      ' Use this method is used to read all bytes from a stream.
      Dim offset As Integer = 0
      Dim totalCount As Integer = 0
      While True
         Dim bytesRead As Integer = stream.Read(buffer, offset, 100)
         If bytesRead = 0 Then
            Exit While
         End If
         offset += bytesRead
         totalCount += bytesRead
      End While
      Return totalCount
   End Function 'ReadAllBytesFromStream


   Public Shared Function CompareData(buf1() As Byte, len1 As Integer, buf2() As Byte, len2 As Integer) As Boolean
      ' Use this method to compare data from two different buffers.
        If len1 <> len2 Then
            msg = "Number of bytes in two buffer are different" & len1 & ":" & len2
            MsgBox(msg)
            Return False
        End If

      Dim i As Integer
      For i = 0 To len1 - 1
         If buf1(i) <> buf2(i) Then
                msg = "byte " & i & " is different " & buf1(i) & "|" & buf2(i)
                MsgBox(msg)
                Return False
         End If
        Next i
        msg = "All bytes compare."
        MsgBox(msg)
        Return True
   End Function 'CompareData


   Public Shared Sub DeflateCompressDecompress(filename As String)
        msg = "Test compression and decompression on file " & filename
        MsgBox(msg)

        Dim infile As FileStream
      Try
         ' Open the file as a FileStream object.
         infile = New FileStream(filename, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.Read)
            Dim buffer(infile.Length - 1) As Byte
         ' Read the file to ensure it is readable.
            Dim count As Integer = infile.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)
         If count <> buffer.Length Then
                infile.Close()
                msg = "Test Failed: Unable to read data from file"
                MsgBox(msg)
                Return
         End If
         infile.Close()
         Dim ms As New MemoryStream()
         ' Use the newly created memory stream for the compressed data.
         Dim compressedzipStream As New DeflateStream(ms, CompressionMode.Compress, True)
         compressedzipStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)
         ' Close the stream.
            compressedzipStream.Close()

            msg = "Original size: " & buffer.Length & ", Compressed size: " & ms.Length
            MsgBox(msg)

         ' Reset the memory stream position to begin decompression.
         ms.Position = 0
         Dim zipStream As New DeflateStream(ms, CompressionMode.Decompress)
         Dim decompressedBuffer(buffer.Length + 100) As Byte
         ' Use the ReadAllBytesFromStream to read the stream.
         Dim totalCount As Integer = DeflateTest.ReadAllBytesFromStream(zipStream, decompressedBuffer)
            msg = "Decompressed " & totalCount & " bytes"
            MsgBox(msg)

         If Not DeflateTest.CompareData(buffer, buffer.Length, decompressedBuffer, totalCount) Then
                msg = "Error. The two buffers did not compare."
                MsgBox(msg)

         End If
         zipStream.Close()
        Catch e As Exception
            msg = "Error: The file being read contains invalid data."
            MsgBox(msg)
        End Try

   End Sub 'DeflateCompressDecompress

    Public Shared Sub Main(ByVal args() As String)
        Dim usageText As String = "Usage: DeflateTest <inputfilename>"
        'If no file name is specified, write usage text.
        If args.Length = 0 Then
            Console.WriteLine(usageText)
        Else
            If File.Exists(args(0)) Then
                DeflateCompressDecompress(args(0))
            End If
        End If
    End Sub 'Main
End Class 'DeflateTest 

C#
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.IO.Compression;

public class DeflateTest
{
    public static int ReadAllBytesFromStream(Stream stream, byte[] buffer) 
    {
    // Use this method is used to read all bytes from a stream.
    int offset = 0;
    int totalCount = 0;
        while (true) 
        {
        int bytesRead = stream.Read(buffer, offset, 100); 
            if ( bytesRead == 0) 
            {
            break; 
            }
    offset += bytesRead;
    totalCount += bytesRead; 
        }
    return totalCount;
    } 

    public static bool CompareData(byte[] buf1, int len1, byte[] buf2, int len2) 
    {
        // Use this method to compare data from two different buffers.
        if (len1 != len2) 
        { 
        Console.WriteLine("Number of bytes in two buffer are different {0}:{1}", len1, len2);
        return false;
        }

        for ( int i= 0; i< len1; i++) 
        {
            if ( buf1[i] != buf2[i]) 
            {
            Console.WriteLine("byte {0} is different {1}|{2}", i, buf1[i], buf2[i]);
            return false;
            }
        }
    Console.WriteLine("All bytes compare.");
    return true; 
    }

    public static void DeflateCompressDecompress(string filename)
    {
    Console.WriteLine("Test compression and decompression on file {0}", filename);
    FileStream infile;
        try
        {
        // Open the file as a FileStream object.
        infile = new FileStream(filename, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.Read);
        byte[] buffer = new byte[infile.Length];
        // Read the file to ensure it is readable.
        int count = infile.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
            if ( count != buffer.Length) 
            {
            infile.Close();
            Console.WriteLine("Test Failed: Unable to read data from file"); 
            return;
            }
        infile.Close();
        MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
        // Use the newly created memory stream for the compressed data.
        DeflateStream compressedzipStream = new DeflateStream(ms , CompressionMode.Compress, true);
        Console.WriteLine("Compression");
        compressedzipStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
        // Close the stream.
        compressedzipStream.Close();
        Console.WriteLine("Original size: {0}, Compressed size: {1}", buffer.Length, ms.Length);

        // Reset the memory stream position to begin decompression.
        ms.Position = 0;
        DeflateStream zipStream = new DeflateStream(ms, CompressionMode.Decompress);
        Console.WriteLine("Decompression");
        byte[] decompressedBuffer = new byte[buffer.Length + 100];
        // Use the ReadAllBytesFromStream to read the stream.
        int totalCount = DeflateTest.ReadAllBytesFromStream(zipStream, decompressedBuffer);
        Console.WriteLine("Decompressed {0} bytes", totalCount);

        if( !DeflateTest.CompareData(buffer, buffer.Length, decompressedBuffer, totalCount) ) 
        {
        Console.WriteLine("Error. The two buffers did not compare.");
        }
    zipStream.Close(); 
        } // end try
        catch (InvalidDataException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: The file being read contains invalid data.");
        }
        catch (FileNotFoundException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error:The file specified was not found.");
        }
        catch (ArgumentException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters");
        }
        catch (PathTooLongException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 characters, and file names must be less than 260 characters.");
        }
        catch (DirectoryNotFoundException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: The specified path is invalid, such as being on an unmapped drive.");
        }
        catch (IOException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: An I/O error occurred while opening the file.");
        }
        catch (UnauthorizedAccessException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: path specified a file that is read-only, the path is a directory, or caller does not have the required permissions.");
        }
        catch (IndexOutOfRangeException)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: You must provide parameters for MyGZIP.");
        }
    }
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        string usageText = "Usage: DeflateTest <inputfilename>";
        //If no file name is specified, write usage text.
        if (args.Length == 0)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(usageText);
        }
        else
        {
            if (File.Exists(args[0]))
                DeflateCompressDecompress(args[0]);
        }
    }
}
    

Visual C++
#using <System.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
using namespace System::IO::Compression;
int ReadAllBytesFromStream( Stream^ stream, array<Byte>^buffer )
{

   // Use this method is used to read all bytes from a stream.
   int offset = 0;
   int totalCount = 0;
   for ( ; ;  )
   {
      int bytesRead = stream->Read( buffer, offset, 100 );
      if ( bytesRead == 0 )
      {
         break;
      }

      offset += bytesRead;
      totalCount += bytesRead;

   }
   return totalCount;
}

bool CompareData( array<Byte>^buf1, int len1, array<Byte>^buf2, int len2 )
{

   // Use this method to compare data from two different buffers.
   if ( len1 != len2 )
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Number of bytes in two buffer are different {0}:{1}", len1, len2 );
      return false;
   }

   for ( int i = 0; i < len1; i++ )
   {
      if ( buf1[ i ] != buf2[ i ] )
      {
         Console::WriteLine( "byte {0} is different {1}|{2}", i, buf1[ i ], buf2[ i ] );
         return false;
      }

   }
   Console::WriteLine( "All bytes compare." );
   return true;
}

void DeflateCompressDecompress( String^ filename )
{
   Console::WriteLine( "Test compression and decompression on file {0}", filename );
   FileStream^ infile;
   try
   {

      // Open the file as a FileStream object.
      infile = gcnew FileStream( filename,FileMode::Open,FileAccess::Read,FileShare::Read );
      array<Byte>^buffer = gcnew array<Byte>((int)infile->Length);

      // Read the file to ensure it is readable.
      int count = infile->Read( buffer, 0, buffer->Length );
      if ( count != buffer->Length )
      {
         infile->Close();
         Console::WriteLine( "Test Failed: Unable to read data from file" );
         return;
      }
      infile->Close();
      MemoryStream^ ms = gcnew MemoryStream;

      // Use the newly created memory stream for the compressed data.
      DeflateStream ^ compressedzipStream = gcnew DeflateStream( ms,CompressionMode::Compress,true );
      Console::WriteLine( "Compression" );
      compressedzipStream->Write( buffer, 0, buffer->Length );

      // Close the stream.
      compressedzipStream->Close();
      Console::WriteLine( "Original size: {0}, Compressed size: {1}", buffer->Length, ms->Length );

      // Reset the memory stream position to begin decompression.
      ms->Position = 0;
      DeflateStream ^ zipStream = gcnew DeflateStream( ms,CompressionMode::Decompress );
      Console::WriteLine( "Decompression" );
      array<Byte>^decompressedBuffer = gcnew array<Byte>(buffer->Length + 100);

      // Use the ReadAllBytesFromStream to read the stream.
      int totalCount = ReadAllBytesFromStream( zipStream, decompressedBuffer );
      Console::WriteLine( "Decompressed {0} bytes", totalCount );
      if (  !CompareData( buffer, buffer->Length, decompressedBuffer, totalCount ) )
      {
         Console::WriteLine( "Error. The two buffers did not compare." );
      }
      zipStream->Close();
   }
   catch ( InvalidDataException ^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error: The file being read contains invalid data." );
   }
   catch ( FileNotFoundException^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error:The file specified was not found." );
   }
   catch ( ArgumentException^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters" );
   }
   catch ( PathTooLongException^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error: The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length."
      " For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 characters, and file names must be less than 260 characters." );
   }
   catch ( DirectoryNotFoundException^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error: The specified path is invalid, such as being on an unmapped drive." );
   }
   catch ( IOException^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error: An I/O error occurred while opening the file." );
   }
   catch ( UnauthorizedAccessException^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error: path specified a file that is read-only, the path is a directory, or caller does not have the required permissions." );
   }
   catch ( IndexOutOfRangeException^ ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "Error: You must provide parameters for MyGZIP." );
   }

}

int main()
{
   array<String^>^args = Environment::GetCommandLineArgs();
   String^ usageText = "Usage: DeflateTest <inputfilename>";

   //If no file name is specified, write usage text.
   if ( args->Length == 1 )
   {
      Console::WriteLine( usageText );
   }
   else
   {
      if ( File::Exists( args[ 1 ] ) )
            DeflateCompressDecompress( args[ 1 ] );
   }
}


J#
import System.*;
import System.IO.*;
import System.IO.Compression.*;

public class DeflateTest
{
    public static int ReadAllBytesFromStream(Stream stream, ubyte buffer[])
    {
        // Use this method is used to read all bytes from a stream.
        int offSet = 0;
        int totalCount = 0;
        while (true) {
            int bytesRead = stream.Read(buffer, offSet, 100);
            if (bytesRead == 0) {
                break;
            }
            offSet += bytesRead;
            totalCount += bytesRead;
        }
        return totalCount;
    } //ReadAllBytesFromStream

    public static boolean CompareData(ubyte buf1[], int len1, 
        ubyte buf2[], int len2)
    {
        // Use this method to compare data from two different buffers.
        if (len1 != len2) {
            Console.WriteLine("Number of bytes in two buffer are "
                + "different {0}:{1}", System.Convert.ToString(len1), 
                System.Convert.ToString(len2));
            return false;
        }
        for (int i = 0; i < len1; i++) {
            if (!(buf1.get_Item(i).Equals(buf2.get_Item(i)))) {
                Console.WriteLine("byte {0} is different {1}|{2}", 
                    System.Convert.ToString(i), 
                    System.Convert.ToString(buf1.get_Item(i)), 
                    System.Convert.ToString(buf2.get_Item(i)));
                return false;
            }
        }
        Console.WriteLine("All bytes compare.");
        return true;
    } //CompareData

    public static void DeflateCompressDecompress(String fileName)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Test compression and decompression on file {0}",
            fileName);
        FileStream inFile;
        try {
            // Open the file as a FileStream object.
            inFile = new FileStream(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, 
                FileShare.Read);
            ubyte buffer[] = new ubyte[(ubyte)inFile.get_Length()];

            // Read the file to ensure it is readable.
            int count = inFile.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.length);
            if (count != buffer.length) {
                inFile.Close();
                Console.WriteLine("Test Failed: Unable to read data from file");
                return;
            }
            inFile.Close();
            MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();

            // Use the newly created memory stream for the compressed data.
            DeflateStream compressedZipStream = 
                new DeflateStream(ms, CompressionMode.Compress, true);
            Console.WriteLine("Compression");
            compressedZipStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.length);

            // Close the stream.
            compressedZipStream.Close();
            Console.WriteLine("Original size: {0}, Compressed size: {1}", 
                System.Convert.ToString(buffer.length), 
                System.Convert.ToString(ms.get_Length()));

            // Reset the memory stream position to begin decompression.
            ms.set_Position(0);
            DeflateStream zipStream = 
                new DeflateStream(ms, CompressionMode.Decompress);
            Console.WriteLine("Decompression");
            ubyte decompressedBuffer[] = new ubyte[buffer.length + 100];

            // Use the ReadAllBytesFromStream to read the stream.
            int totalCount = DeflateTest.ReadAllBytesFromStream(zipStream, 
                decompressedBuffer);
            Console.WriteLine("Decompressed {0} bytes", 
                System.Convert.ToString(totalCount));

            if (!(DeflateTest.CompareData(buffer, buffer.length, 
                decompressedBuffer, totalCount))) {
                Console.WriteLine("Error. The two buffers did not compare.");
            }
            zipStream.Close();
        } 
        catch (InvalidDataException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: The file being read contains"
                + " invalid data.");
        }
        catch (FileNotFoundException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error:The file specified was not found.");
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: path is a zero-length string, contains"
                + " only white space, or contains one or more "
                + "invalid characters");
        }
        catch (PathTooLongException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: The specified path, file name, or both"
                + " exceed the system-defined maximum length. For example, "
                + "on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 "
                + "characters, and file names must be less than 260 "
                + "characters.");
        }
        catch (DirectoryNotFoundException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: The specified path is invalid, such"
                + " as being on an unmapped drive.");
        }
        catch (IOException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: An I/O error occurred while "
                + "opening the file.");
        }
        catch (UnauthorizedAccessException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: path specified a file that is read-only,"
                + " the path is a directory, or caller does not have the"
                + " required permissions.");
        }
        catch (IndexOutOfRangeException exp) {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: You must provide parameters for MyGZIP.");
        }
    } //DeflateCompressDecompress

    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        String usageText = "Usage: DeflateTest <inputfilename>";

        //If no file name is specified, write usage text.
        if (args.length == 0) {
            Console.WriteLine(usageText);
        }
        else {
            if (File.Exists(args[0])) {
                DeflateCompressDecompress(args[0]);
            }
        }
    } //main
} //DeflateTest

System..::.Object
  System..::.MarshalByRefObject
    System.IO..::.Stream
      System.IO.Compression..::.DeflateStream
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5
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Library to handle .ZIP files      cheeso   |   Edit   |  

The Deflate compression algorithm is what is used in .zip files. But this DeflateStream class doesn't handle full zip files. There is a 3rd party library, though, that can read and write .zip files: DotNetZip.

Find it at:
http://www.codeplex.com/DotNetZip

It is written in C#, but you can use it from any language. It works in Winforms apps, console apps, ASP.NET apps, anything you write in .NET.

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