Compression C# WinRT Reference Documentation

Compression

Current Version: 9.5.0.90

Data compression component implementing the PPMD, Bzip2, Deflate, and LZW compression algorithms. .NET, ActiveX, and C++ implementations provide progress monitoring and abort capabilities. Provides a unified API for all supported compression algorithms.

Object Creation

Chilkat.Compression obj = new Chilkat.Compression();

Properties

Algorithm
public string Algorithm {get; set; }

The compression algorithm to be used. Should be set to either "ppmd", "deflate", "zlib", "bzip2", or "lzw".

Note: The PPMD compression algorithm is only available for 32-bit builds. It is not available for 64-bit implementations. Also, this PPMD implementation is the "J" variant.

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Charset
public string Charset {get; set; }

Only applies to methods that compress or decompress strings. This specifies the character encoding that the string should be converted to before compression. Many programming languages use Unicode (2 bytes per char) for representing characters. This property allows for the string to be converted to a 1-byte per char encoding prior to compression.

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DebugLogFilePath
public string DebugLogFilePath {get; set; }

If set to a file path, causes each Chilkat method or property call to automatically append it's LastErrorText to the specified log file. The information is appended such that if a hang or crash occurs, it is possible to see the context in which the problem occurred, as well as a history of all Chilkat calls up to the point of the problem. The VerboseLogging property can be set to provide more detailed information.

This property is typically used for debugging the rare cases where a Chilkat method call hangs or generates an exception that halts program execution (i.e. crashes). A hang or crash should generally never happen. The typical causes of a hang are:

  1. a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
  2. the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
  3. there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.

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DeflateLevel
public int DeflateLevel {get; set; }
Introduced in version 9.5.0.73

This property allows for customization of the compression level for the "deflate" and "zlib" compression algoirthms. ("zlib" is just the deflate algorithm with a zlib header.) A value of 0 = no compression, while 9 = maximum compression. The default is 6.

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EncodingMode
public string EncodingMode {get; set; }

Controls the encoding expected by methods ending in "ENC", such as CompressBytesENC. Valid values are "base64", "hex", "url", and "quoted-printable". Compression methods ending in ENC return the binary compressed data as an encoded string using this encoding. Decompress methods expect the input string to be this encoding.

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HeartbeatMs
public int HeartbeatMs {get; set; }

The number of milliseconds between each AbortCheck event callback. The AbortCheck callback allows an application to abort any method call prior to completion. If HeartbeatMs is 0 (the default), no AbortCheck event callbacks will fire.

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LastErrorHtml
public string LastErrorHtml {get; }

Provides information in HTML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorText
public string LastErrorText {get; }

Provides information in plain-text format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorXml
public string LastErrorXml {get; }

Provides information in XML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastMethodSuccess
public bool LastMethodSuccess {get; set; }
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of true indicates success, a value of false indicates failure. This property is automatically set for method calls. It is not modified by property accesses. The property is automatically set to indicate success for the following types of method calls:

  • Any method that returns a string.
  • Any method returning a Chilkat object, binary bytes, or a date/time.
  • Any method returning a standard boolean status value where success = true and failure = false.
  • Any method returning an integer where failure is defined by a return value less than zero.

Note: Methods that do not fit the above requirements will always set this property equal to true. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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VerboseLogging
public bool VerboseLogging {get; set; }

If set to true, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is false. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
public string Version {get; }

Version of the component/library, such as "9.5.0.63"

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Methods

BeginCompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> BeginCompressBytesAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

Large amounts of binary byte data may be compressed in chunks by first calling BeginCompressBytes, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreCompressedBytes, and ending with a final call to EndCompressBytes. Each call returns 0 or more bytes of compressed data which may be output to a compressed data stream (such as a file, socket, etc.).

Returns an empty byte array on failure

More Information and Examples
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BeginCompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> BeginCompressBytesENCAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

Large amounts of binary byte data may be compressed in chunks by first calling BeginCompressBytesENC, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreCompressedBytesENC, and ending with a final call to EndCompressBytesENC. Each call returns 0 or more characters of compressed data (encoded as a string according to the EncodingMode property setting) which may be output to a compressed data stream (such as a file, socket, etc.).

Returns null on failure

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BeginCompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> BeginCompressStringAsyncAsync(string str);

Large amounts of string data may be compressed in chunks by first calling BeginCompressString, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreCompressedString, and ending with a final call to EndCompressString. Each call returns 0 or more bytes of compressed data which may be output to a compressed data stream (such as a file, socket, etc.).

Returns an empty byte array on failure

More Information and Examples
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BeginCompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> BeginCompressStringENCAsyncAsync(string str);

Large amounts of string data may be compressed in chunks by first calling BeginCompressStringENC, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreCompressedStringENC, and ending with a final call to EndCompressStringENC. Each call returns 0 or more characters of compressed data (encoded as a string according to the EncodingMode property setting) which may be output to a compressed data stream (such as a file, socket, etc.).

Returns null on failure

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BeginDecompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> BeginDecompressBytesAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

A compressed data stream may be decompressed in chunks by first calling BeginDecompressBytes, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreDecompressedBytes, and ending with a final call to EndDecompressBytes. Each call returns 0 or more bytes of decompressed data.

Returns an empty byte array on failure

More Information and Examples
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BeginDecompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> BeginDecompressBytesENCAsyncAsync(string str);

The input to this method is an encoded string containing compressed data. The EncodingMode property should be set prior to calling this method. The input string is decoded according to the EncodingMode (hex, base64, etc.) and then decompressed.

A compressed data stream may be decompressed in chunks by first calling BeginDecompressBytesENC, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreDecompressedBytesENC, and ending with a final call to EndDecompressBytesENC. Each call returns 0 or more bytes of decompressed data.

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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BeginDecompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> BeginDecompressStringAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

A compressed data stream may be decompressed in chunks by first calling BeginDecompressString, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreDecompressedString, and ending with a final call to EndDecompressString. Each call returns 0 or more characters of decompressed text.

Returns null on failure

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BeginDecompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> BeginDecompressStringENCAsyncAsync(string str);

The input to this method is an encoded string containing compressed data. The EncodingMode property should be set prior to calling this method. The input string is decoded according to the EncodingMode (hex, base64, etc.) and then decompressed.

A compressed data stream may be decompressed in chunks by first calling BeginDecompressStringENC, followed by 0 or more calls to MoreDecompressedStringENC, and ending with a final call to EndDecompressStringENC. Each call returns 0 or more characters of decompressed text.

Returns null on failure

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CompressBd
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> CompressBdAsyncAsync(BinData binData);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.66

Compresses the data contained in a BinData object.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> CompressBytesAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

Compresses byte data.

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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CompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> CompressBytesENCAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

Compresses bytes and returns the compressed data encoded to a string. The encoding (hex, base64, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property setting.

Returns null on failure

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CompressFile
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> CompressFileAsyncAsync(string srcPath, string destPath);

Performs file-to-file compression. Files of any size may be compressed because the file is compressed internally in streaming mode.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressSb
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> CompressSbAsyncAsync(StringBuilder sb, BinData binData);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.73

Compresses the contents of sb and appends the compressed bytes to binData.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressStream
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> CompressStreamAsyncAsync(Stream strm);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.56

Compresses a stream. Internally, the strm's source is read, compressed, and the compressed data written to the strm's sink. It does this in streaming fashion. Extremely large or even infinite streams can be compressed with stable ungrowing memory usage.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> CompressStringAsyncAsync(string str);

Compresses a string.

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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CompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> CompressStringENCAsyncAsync(string str);

Compresses a string and returns the compressed data encoded to a string. The output encoding (hex, base64, etc.) is determined by the EncodingMode property setting.

Returns null on failure

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DecompressBd
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> DecompressBdAsyncAsync(BinData binData);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.66

Decompresses the data contained in a BinData object.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> DecompressBytesAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

The opposite of CompressBytes.

Returns an empty byte array on failure

More Information and Examples
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DecompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> DecompressBytesENCAsyncAsync(string encodedCompressedData);

The opposite of CompressBytesENC. encodedCompressedData contains the compressed data as an encoded string (hex, base64, etc) as specified by the EncodingMode property setting.

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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DecompressFile
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> DecompressFileAsyncAsync(string srcPath, string destPath);

Performs file-to-file decompression (the opposite of CompressFile). Internally the file is decompressed in streaming mode which allows files of any size to be decompressed.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressSb
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> DecompressSbAsyncAsync(BinData binData, StringBuilder sb);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.73

Decompresses the contents of binData and appends the decompressed string to sb.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressStream
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<bool> DecompressStreamAsyncAsync(Stream strm);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.56

Decompresses a stream. Internally, the strm's source is read, decompressed, and the decompressed data written to the strm's sink. It does this in streaming fashion. Extremely large or even infinite streams can be decompressed with stable ungrowing memory usage.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> DecompressStringAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

Takes compressed bytes, decompresses, and returns the resulting string.

Returns null on failure

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DecompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> DecompressStringENCAsyncAsync(string encodedCompressedData);

The opposite of CompressStringENC. encodedCompressedData contains the compressed data as an encoded string (hex, base64, etc) as specified by the EncodingMode property setting.

Returns null on failure

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EndCompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> EndCompressBytesAsyncAsync();

Must be callled to finalize a compression stream. Returns any remaining (buffered) compressed data.

(See BeginCompressBytes)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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EndCompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> EndCompressBytesENCAsyncAsync();

Must be callled to finalize a compression stream. Returns any remaining (buffered) compressed data.

(See BeginCompressBytesENC)

Returns null on failure

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EndCompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> EndCompressStringAsyncAsync();

Must be callled to finalize a compression stream. Returns any remaining (buffered) compressed data.

(See BeginCompressString)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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EndCompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> EndCompressStringENCAsyncAsync();

Must be callled to finalize a compression stream. Returns any remaining (buffered) compressed data.

(See BeginCompressStringENC)

Returns null on failure

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EndDecompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> EndDecompressBytesAsyncAsync();

Called to finalize the decompression stream and return any remaining (buffered) decompressed data.

(See BeginDecompressBytes)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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EndDecompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> EndDecompressBytesENCAsyncAsync();

Called to finalize the decompression stream and return any remaining (buffered) decompressed data.

The input to this method is an encoded string containing compressed data. The EncodingMode property should be set prior to calling this method. The input string is decoded according to the EncodingMode (hex, base64, etc.) and then decompressed.

(See BeginDecompressBytesENC)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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EndDecompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> EndDecompressStringAsyncAsync();

Called to finalize the decompression stream and return any remaining (buffered) decompressed data.

(See BeginDecompressString)

Returns null on failure

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EndDecompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> EndDecompressStringENCAsyncAsync();

Called to finalize the decompression stream and return any remaining (buffered) decompressed data.

The input to this method is an encoded string containing compressed data. The EncodingMode property should be set prior to calling this method. The input string is decoded according to the EncodingMode (hex, base64, etc.) and then decompressed.

(See BeginDecompressStringENC)

Returns null on failure

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MoreCompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> MoreCompressBytesAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

(See BeginCompressBytes)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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MoreCompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> MoreCompressBytesENCAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

(See BeginCompressBytesENC)

Returns null on failure

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MoreCompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> MoreCompressStringAsyncAsync(string str);

(See BeginCompressString)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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MoreCompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> MoreCompressStringENCAsyncAsync(string str);

(See BeginCompressStringENC)

Returns null on failure

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MoreDecompressBytes
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> MoreDecompressBytesAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

(See BeginDecompressBytes)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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MoreDecompressBytesENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<byte[]> MoreDecompressBytesENCAsyncAsync(string str);

The input to this method is an encoded string containing compressed data. The EncodingMode property should be set prior to calling this method. The input string is decoded according to the EncodingMode (hex, base64, etc.) and then decompressed.

(See BeginDecompressBytesENC)

Returns an empty byte array on failure

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MoreDecompressString
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> MoreDecompressStringAsyncAsync(byte[] data);

(See BeginDecompressString)

Returns null on failure

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MoreDecompressStringENC
(awaitable) public IAsyncOperation<string> MoreDecompressStringENCAsyncAsync(string str);

The input to this method is an encoded string containing compressed data. The EncodingMode property should be set prior to calling this method. The input string is decoded according to the EncodingMode (hex, base64, etc.) and then decompressed.

(See BeginDecompressStringENC)

Returns null on failure

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Events

Callbacks from asynchronous methods occur in a background thread. However, controls on the UI thread may only be accessed from the UI thread.Therefore, UI updates must be dispatched to the UI thread. One way to do this is as follows:

    public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
    {
        private Windows.UI.Core.CoreDispatcher m_dispatcher = null;

        public MainPage()
        {
            this.InitializeComponent();
            m_dispatcher = Windows.UI.Core.CoreWindow.GetForCurrentThread().Dispatcher;
        }


        async private void Http_ProgressInfo(object sender, Chilkat.ProgressInfoEventArgs eventArgs)
        {
            await m_dispatcher.RunAsync(Windows.UI.Core.CoreDispatcherPriority.Normal, () =>
            {
                // Application code to update the UI goes here...
            });
        }

    }