With the impending arrival of Ares and directed messaging, Urbit will soon be able to send and store large files. In the traditional computing environment, zipped files are a useful way to soften demand when sending and storing large files. This will be useful on Urbit as well. We'd like to take inspiration from the DEFLATE algorithm as well as the gzip program and file format.

Milestone 1: GZIP Compression Library

Payment: 1 Star ETA: July 2024

Deliverables:

• GZIP Compression Library: Implement a library that will allow developers to turn any piece of Urbit data into a compressed file
• GZIP Mark File: Create a file type for compressed files
• Combine work with the previously completed de-compression work by ~nomzod-wacbyr to create a coherent library
• Thorough tests and documentation for the above.

Milestone 2: Archive Utilities

Payment: 1 Star ETA: August 2024 Deliverables:

• Libraries and Mark Files for Archive Formats: Develop libraries and mark files for tar and ZIP files.
• File Compression Generator: Implement a tool to compress individual files or batches of files as an archive in either ZIP or tar format, providing functionality equivalent to standard Linux compression and archive utilities.
• Tests and documentation for the above.