[Zlib-devel] crc32 detach proposal

[Alexei Khlebnikov]

(Sorry for duplicate, I've forgotten to write "subject" in the last
message.)


Hello, zlib developers.

I am going to write an utility (free off course) that will recover damaged
files. I need caclulating crc32 in it. What I want to discuss on the mailing
list is splitting zlib into zlib and libcrc32 (in other words, detach crc32
facilities into a separate library). The great opportunity of free software
is others' code reusing, avoiding duplicate work. This speeds up free
software
development. And crc32 is such a feature that is needed by many
programs. Now there is a situation that every program that needs crc32
contains its own code implementing this feature. These are such programs:
gzip, bzip2, cksfv, infozip. And this list may be appended by my little
utility. Duplicated work, duplicated disk space usage. The solution is to
detach crc32 functionality into a separate library. What a developer like me
is
supposed to do now? Link to entire zlib because of needing to just calculate
crc32? Or rewrite crc32 facilities once more? Off course, I can
cut-and-paste
code from zlib, gzip, infozip, bzip2, cksfv or, perhaps, some internet
source.
But it's almost the same as rewriting it. It 's bad thing (TM) to duplicate
substances if it can be easily avoided. So, I propose to detach crc32
facilities into libcrc32, so that anyone who want to use it without the
whole
zlib can do it.

Regards,
Alexei.