Compression JavaScript Reference Documentation

Compression

Current Version: 11.4.0

Provides a flexible and efficient API for compressing and decompressing data in memory, files, and streams. It supports multiple compression algorithms, chunked processing for large data, and optional encoding for easy transport or storage.


Key Features

  • Multiple Compression Algorithms
    • deflate
    • zlib (deflate with header)
    • bzip2
    • lzw
  • Flexible Data Types
    • Byte arrays
    • Strings (with configurable charset)
    • BinData and StringBuilder
    • Files and streams
  • Streaming Support
    • Compress/decompress arbitrarily large data with constant memory usage
    • Ideal for files, sockets, or continuous data streams
  • Chunked Processing
    • Process data incrementally using FirstChunk and LastChunk
    • Replace older Begin/More/End patterns
  • Encoded Output Options
  • Integrated Compression + Encryption
    • Combine compression and encryption in a single operation

Object Creation

Note: This is intended for running within a Chilkat.Js embedded JavaScript engine.

var obj = new CkCompression();

Properties

Algorithm
Algorithm
· string

Specifies the compression algorithm to use. Supported values are deflate, zlib, bzip2, and lzw.

The zlib option is the deflate algorithm with a zlib header.

Note: ppmd is deprecated and should not be used. It was only available on 32-bit systems and specifically used the J variant. New applications should use one of the supported algorithms listed above.

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Charset
Charset
· string

Specifies the character encoding used when converting text to bytes before compression, and bytes back to text after decompression.

The current default is the computer’s ANSI charset, such as Windows-1252 on many Western Windows systems. However, most modern applications should explicitly set this property to utf-8.

Recommendation: Set Charset = "utf-8" unless you specifically need compatibility with another encoding.

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DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath
· string

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

More Information and Examples
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DeflateLevel
DeflateLevel
· int
Introduced in version 9.5.0.73

Sets the compression level used by the deflate and zlib algorithms.

  • 0 means no compression.
  • 9 means maximum compression.
  • The default value is 6.

Higher values may produce smaller output but can require more processing time.

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EncodingMode
EncodingMode
· string

Specifies the text encoding used by methods whose names end in ENC, such as CompressBytesENC and DecompressStringENC.

Compression methods ending in ENC return compressed binary data as an encoded string. Decompression methods ending in ENC expect the input string to use this same encoding.

Valid values include:

  • base64
  • hex
  • url
  • quoted-printable

More Information and Examples
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FirstChunk
FirstChunk
· boolean
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Indicates that the next chunk-aware compression or decompression call is the first chunk in a sequence.

The default value is true.

When both FirstChunk and LastChunk are true, the method call is treated as a complete, single-call compression or decompression operation.

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LastChunk
LastChunk
· boolean
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Indicates that the next chunk-aware compression or decompression call is the final chunk in a sequence.

The default value is true.

When both FirstChunk and LastChunk are true, the input is treated as the complete data set and processed in a single call.

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LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml
· string, read-only

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorText
LastErrorText
· string, read-only

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml
· string, read-only

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess
· boolean

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: true means success, false means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.

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UncommonOptions
UncommonOptions
· string
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Provides a way to enable specialized or uncommon behavior. This property normally remains empty.

It may be set to a comma-separated list of keywords.

Supported option:

  • Crypt2CompressHdr — Duplicates the compression/decompression header behavior used by the deprecated and removed Crypt2 compression functions.

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VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging
· boolean

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
Version
· string, read-only

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

More Information and Examples
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Methods

CompressBd
var success = CompressBd(bd);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· bd: CkBinData
Introduced in version 9.5.0.66

Compresses the data contained in a BinData object.

The BinData object is modified to contain the compressed result.

This method is not FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressBd2
var success = CompressBd2(bdIn, bdOut);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· bdIn: CkBinData
· bdOut: CkBinData
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Compresses the data in one BinData object and appends the compressed output to another BinData object.

The input BinData is not modified.

This method is FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressEncryptFile
var success = CompressEncryptFile(cryptParams, srcPath, destPath);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· cryptParams: CkJsonObject
· srcPath: string
· destPath: string
Introduced in version 9.5.0.99

Compresses and encrypts a file, writing the result to a destination file.

The compression and encryption are performed internally in streaming mode, so files of any size can be processed without loading the entire file into memory.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressFile
var success = CompressFile(srcPath, destPath);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· srcPath: string
· destPath: string

Compresses a source file and writes the compressed data to a destination file.

The file is processed internally in streaming mode, allowing files of any size to be compressed with stable memory usage.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressSb
var success = CompressSb(sb, binData);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· sb: CkStringBuilder
· binData: CkBinData
Introduced in version 9.5.0.73

Compresses the text contained in a StringBuilder and appends the compressed bytes to a BinData object.

Text is converted to bytes according to the Charset property.

This method is FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressStr
var success = CompressStr(str, bd);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· str: string
· bd: CkBinData
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Compresses a string and appends the compressed bytes to a BinData object.

The string is converted to bytes using the charset specified by the Charset property.

This method is FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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CompressStringENC
var strVal = CompressStringENC(str);
· return: string
· str: string

Compresses a string and returns the compressed result as an encoded string.

The string is first converted to bytes using Charset, then compressed, and finally encoded according to EncodingMode.

This method is not FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns null on failure

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DecompressBd
var success = DecompressBd(bd);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· bd: CkBinData
Introduced in version 9.5.0.66

Decompresses the compressed data contained in a BinData object.

The BinData object is modified to contain the decompressed result.

This method is not FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressBd2
var success = DecompressBd2(bdIn, bdOut);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· bdIn: CkBinData
· bdOut: CkBinData
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Decompresses the data in one BinData object and appends the decompressed output to another BinData object.

The input BinData is not modified.

This method is FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressFile
var success = DecompressFile(srcPath, destPath);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· srcPath: string
· destPath: string

Decompresses a source file and writes the decompressed data to a destination file.

The file is processed internally in streaming mode, allowing files of any size to be decompressed without loading the entire file into memory.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressSb
var success = DecompressSb(binData, sb);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· binData: CkBinData
· sb: CkStringBuilder
Introduced in version 9.5.0.73

Decompresses compressed data from a BinData object and appends the resulting text to a StringBuilder.

The decompressed bytes are converted to text using the Charset property.

This method is FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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DecompressStringENC
var strVal = DecompressStringENC(encodedCompressedData);
· return: string
· encodedCompressedData: string

Decompresses compressed data supplied as an encoded string and returns the resulting text.

The input string is decoded according to EncodingMode, then decompressed. The resulting bytes are converted to text using Charset.

This method is not FirstChunk / LastChunk aware.

Returns null on failure

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DecryptDecompressFile
var success = DecryptDecompressFile(cryptParams, srcPath, destPath);
· return: boolean; true for success, false for failure
· cryptParams: CkJsonObject
· srcPath: string
· destPath: string
Introduced in version 9.5.0.99

Decrypts and decompresses a file, writing the restored data to a destination file.

This is the reverse operation of CompressEncryptFile.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

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