1# ZSTD Windows binary package 2 3## The package contents 4 5- `zstd.exe` : Command Line Utility, supporting gzip-like arguments 6- `dll\libzstd.dll` : The ZSTD dynamic library (DLL) 7- `dll\libzstd.lib` : The import library of the ZSTD dynamic library (DLL) for Visual C++ 8- `example\` : The example of usage of the ZSTD library 9- `include\` : Header files required by the ZSTD library 10- `static\libzstd_static.lib` : The static ZSTD library (LIB) 11 12## Usage of Command Line Interface 13 14Command Line Interface (CLI) supports gzip-like arguments. 15By default CLI takes an input file and compresses it to an output file: 16 17 Usage: zstd [arg] [input] [output] 18 19The full list of commands for CLI can be obtained with `-h` or `-H`. The ratio can 20be improved with commands from `-3` to `-16` but higher levels also have slower 21compression. CLI includes in-memory compression benchmark module with compression 22levels starting from `-b` and ending with `-e` with iteration time of `-i` seconds. 23CLI supports aggregation of parameters i.e. `-b1`, `-e18`, and `-i1` can be joined 24into `-b1e18i1`. 25 26## The example of usage of static and dynamic ZSTD libraries with gcc/MinGW 27 28Use `cd example` and `make` to build `fullbench-dll` and `fullbench-lib`. 29`fullbench-dll` uses a dynamic ZSTD library from the `dll` directory. 30`fullbench-lib` uses a static ZSTD library from the `lib` directory. 31 32## Using ZSTD DLL with gcc/MinGW 33 34The header files from `include\` and the dynamic library `dll\libzstd.dll` 35are required to compile a project using gcc/MinGW. 36The dynamic library has to be added to linking options. 37It means that if a project that uses ZSTD consists of a single `test-dll.c` 38file it should be linked with `dll\libzstd.dll`. For example: 39 40 gcc $(CFLAGS) -Iinclude\ test-dll.c -o test-dll dll\libzstd.dll 41 42The compiled executable will require ZSTD DLL which is available at `dll\libzstd.dll`. 43 44## The example of usage of static and dynamic ZSTD libraries with Visual C++ 45 46Open `example\fullbench-dll.sln` to compile `fullbench-dll` that uses a 47dynamic ZSTD library from the `dll` directory. The solution works with Visual C++ 482010 or newer. When one will open the solution with Visual C++ newer than 2010 49then the solution will be upgraded to the current version. 50 51## Using ZSTD DLL with Visual C++ 52 53The header files from `include\` and the import library `dll\libzstd.lib` 54are required to compile a project using Visual C++. 55 561. The path to header files should be added to `Additional Include Directories` that can 57 be found in project properties `C/C++` then `General`. 582. The import library has to be added to `Additional Dependencies` that can 59 be found in project properties `Linker` then `Input`. 60 If one will provide only the name `libzstd.lib` without a full path to the library 61 the directory has to be added to `Linker\General\Additional Library Directories`. 62 63The compiled executable will require ZSTD DLL which is available at `dll\libzstd.dll`. 64