inflate64 compression/decompression

Warnings

• gotcha The `inflate64.inflate` function requires a `max_buffer_size` argument. If the actual decompressed data size exceeds this value, an `inflate64.error` will be raised. A value of 0 attempts to auto-size but may not be suitable for all scenarios, especially with potentially malicious or malformed compressed data.
  Fix: Always provide a `max_buffer_size` to `inflate64.inflate` that is at least as large as the expected decompressed data. For unknown sizes, use a generous estimate or set to 0 and implement robust error handling to catch `inflate64.error`.
• gotcha While `inflate64` implements the deflate64 standard (with larger dictionary sizes), the `wbits` parameter for both `deflate` and `inflate` functions behaves similarly to standard `zlib`. This parameter primarily controls the presence and type of header/footer (raw deflate, zlib, or gzip), rather than directly configuring the deflate64 window size.
  Fix: Understand that the library handles the deflate64-specific dictionary size implicitly. Use `wbits=15` for standard zlib streams, `-15` for raw deflate streams, or `31` for gzip streams, as you would with a standard `zlib` library.
• gotcha This library is a C extension and may require C build tools (like `gcc` on Linux/macOS or MSVC on Windows) for installation if a pre-built wheel is not available for your specific Python version and operating system. This is a common requirement for Python packages wrapping native libraries.
  Fix: If `pip install inflate64` fails with compilation errors, ensure you have the necessary C compiler tools installed on your system. For Windows, install 'Build Tools for Visual Studio'; for Debian/Ubuntu, `sudo apt-get install build-essential`.

Install

• pip install inflate64 Install latest version

Imports

• inflate

  import inflate64; inflate64.inflate

  Functions are directly available via the top-level inflate64 module.
• deflate

  import inflate64; inflate64.deflate

  Functions are directly available via the top-level inflate64 module.

Quickstart

Demonstrates basic compression and decompression of a byte string using `inflate64.deflate` and `inflate64.inflate`. The `max_buffer_size` parameter in `inflate` is highlighted as a critical consideration for robust decompression.

import inflate64

original_data = b"This is some data to be compressed using deflate64. It's important to remember that deflate64 allows for larger dictionary sizes, which can be beneficial for highly repetitive large files. " * 100

# Compress data using deflate64
compressed_data = inflate64.deflate(original_data, level=9)
print(f"Original size: {len(original_data)} bytes")
print(f"Compressed size: {len(compressed_data)} bytes")

# Decompress data using inflate64
# The max_buffer_size is crucial for inflate to prevent errors on large inputs.
# Setting it to 0 attempts auto-sizing, but providing a safe upper bound is often better.
# Here we give some headroom (e.g., original size * 2).
decompressed_data = inflate64.inflate(compressed_data, max_buffer_size=len(original_data) * 2)

assert original_data == decompressed_data
print("Decompression successful!")