[ANNOUNCEMENT] Updated: zlib-1.1.3-6

["Charles S. Wilson" <cwilson at ece dot gatech dot edu>]

The zlib package has been updated to version 1.1.3-6.  zlib is a
standard lossless compression library.  This release has only cosmetic
changes w.r.t.  1.1.3-5, but was rebuilt to coincide with the release of
the new libpng library.

CHANGES:

- supports the '-DALL_STATIC' compile-time flag as a synonym for
-DZLIB_STATIC.  This should help make it easier to compile statically a
project with many dependencies.  However, this is a long-term project:
each 'dll-ized' library must be updated before '-DALL_STATIC' is
useful.  Don't hold your breath.  So far, the following libraries
support -DALL_STATIC:
  zlib-1.1.3-6
  libpng-1.0.9-3
  ncurses-5.2-4

INSTALLATION:

To update your installation, click on the "Install Cygwin now" link on
the http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin web page.  This downloads setup.exe
to your system.

Run setup and answer all of the questions.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE
choose a mirror site for your download.  The 'sources.redhat.com' site
is badly overloaded.  The mirrors below have the latest version of this
package:

ftp://ftp.geekgadgets.org/pub/mirrors/cygwin/ (US)
ftp://ftp.franken.de/pub/win32/develop/gnuwin32/cygwin/mirrors/cygnus/
(Germany)
ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/pc/cygwin/ (Greece)

The setup.exe program will figure out what needs to be updated on your
system and should install the zlib package automatically.

If you have questions or comments, please send them to the Cygwin
mailing list at:  cygwin@sources.redhat.com .  I would appreciate if you
would use this mailing list rather than emailing me directly. This
includes ideas and comments about the setup utility or Cygwin general.

If you want to make a point or ask a question the Cygwin mailing list is
the appropriate place.

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NOTES:

o Building the package from source requires gcc-2.95.2-7 and
binutils-20001221-1 or later (the -mno-win32 flag was inverted
to -mwin32 at that release)

o If you are building a package that depends on zlib, and you wish to
link *statically*, define -DZLIB_STATIC (or -DALL_STATIC) to get the 
'correct' #define's in zlib.h/zconf.h when compiling the .o files 
in your package. Also, use 'gcc -static' when linking your package.

o No special -Ddefine options or link options are needed when building a
package that depends on libz and you want to link dynamically
(recommended).

o I was able to successfully compile and pass zlib's internal tests
('make test') with all of the following build enviromenments:
  - static library  
  - dll
  - static library with 686 optimized assembly code
  - dll with 686 optimized assembly code
  - static library with 586 optimized assembly code
  - dll with 586 optimized assembly code
  - static library (compiled with 'gcc -mwin32')
  - dll (+ 'gcc -mwin32')
  - static library (+ 686 assembly code) (+ 'gcc -mwin32')
  - dll (+ 686 assembly code) (+ 'gcc -mno-win32')
  - static library (+ 586 assembly code) (+ 'gcc -mwin32')
  - dll (+ 586 assembly code) (+ 'gcc -mwin32')

However, the binary package does not use any of the assembler code, and
I
didn't use 'gcc -mwin32' to compile it. According to tests reported
on the libpng-developer's mailing list, the zlib assembly code did not
speed it up all that much, and it breaks cygwin's compatibility with
older processors (a no-no). If you want to build your own zlib with
those enhancements, download the source -- there are instructions for
doing so.


Charles Wilson
zlib volunteer maintainer for cygwin


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