Archive classes allow random access to a seekable stream. Reader classes allow forward-only reading Writer classes allow forward-only Writing
| Archive Format | Compression Format(s) | Compress/Decompress | Archive API | Reader API | Writer API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rar | Rar | Decompress (1) | RarArchive | RarReader | N/A |
| Zip (2) | None, DEFLATE, BZip2, LZMA/LZMA2, PPMd | Both | ZipArchive | ZipReader | ZipWriter |
| Tar | None, BZip2, GZip, LZip | Both | TarArchive | TarReader | TarWriter (3) |
| GZip (single file) | GZip | Both | GZipArchive | GZipReader | GZipWriter |
| 7Zip (4) | LZMA, LZMA2, BZip2, PPMd, BCJ, BCJ2, Deflate | Decompress | SevenZipArchive | N/A | N/A |
- SOLID Rars are only supported in the RarReader API.
- Zip format supports pkware and WinzipAES encryption. However, encrypted LZMA is not supported. Zip64 reading is supported.
- The Tar format requires a file size in the header. If no size is specified to the TarWriter and the stream is not seekable, then an exception will be thrown.
- The 7Zip format doesn't allow for reading as a forward-only stream so 7Zip is only supported through the Archive API
For those who want to directly compress/decompress bits
| Compressor | Compress/Decompress |
|---|---|
| BZip2Stream | Both |
| GZipStream | Both |
| DeflateStream | Both |
| LZMAStream | Both |
| PPMdStream | Both |
| ADCStream | Decompress |
| LZipStream | Decompress |