This component allows you to compress and decompress individual files.

• Reading and writing compressed files with the standard stream methods can also be realised.
• The component also allows you to compress or decompress strings in memory.
• Currently, the two libraries zlib and libbzip2 are used.
• Known programmes with these algorithms are the command line tools 'gzip' and 'bzip2'. Therefore, you can edit or process files generated by these programmes.
• The two data compressors are patent-free.

The gb.compress component uses internally the 'libz' and 'libbz2' libraries, which must be installed on your system. All common (GNU) Linux distributions include packages for these libraries; FreeBSD and other Unix variants as well.

Figure 28.1.1: Packing a file into an archive

In both Compress and Uncompress classes, properties, methods and events are available to use the specified algorithms to compress and decompress individual files, among other things. The use of the two classes is described in chapters 28.1.1 and 28.1.2 and implemented in two projects.