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Objective-C

Understanding ZIP Entry Types and the ZIP Object Lifecycle

See more Zip Examples

This example demonstrates how the Chilkat.Zip object manages entries before and after a ZIP archive is written.

The example shows:

  • How file references are added from the local filesystem using AppendFilesEx
  • How in-memory entries are added using AddString
  • How ZIP entry types change as the ZIP archive progresses from an in-memory staging object to an actual written .zip file
  • How additional entries can continue to be added even after the ZIP archive has already been written

The example also demonstrates the meaning of the different ZipEntry.EntryType values:

  • 1 — File references in the local filesystem that have not yet been processed
  • 2 — In-memory data entries
  • 0 — Entries mapped to an existing open ZIP archive

This example is useful for understanding how the Chilkat.Zip class internally stages entries prior to writing the final ZIP archive.

Chilkat Objective-C Downloads

Objective-C
#import <CkoZip.h>
#import <NSString.h>
#import <CkoZipEntry.h>

BOOL success = NO;

success = NO;

CkoZip *zip = [[CkoZip alloc] init];

NSString *zipPath = @"c:/temp/out.zip";

//  Start a new Zip object and set the output path.
//  This does not create the .zip file yet.  It only initializes the Zip object
//  and records the filename to be used later when WriteZip is called.
[zip NewZip: zipPath];

//  Add references to files in the local filesystem.
//  AppendFilesEx does not read, compress, or store the file contents at this point.
//  It only adds file references to the Zip object.  The referenced files are
//  read and compressed later, when WriteZip is called.
BOOL recurse = YES;
BOOL saveExtraPath = NO;
BOOL archiveOnly = NO;
BOOL includeHidden = YES;
BOOL includeSystem = NO;
success = [zip AppendFilesEx: @"c:/temp/files_to_zip" recurse: recurse saveExtraPath: saveExtraPath archiveOnly: archiveOnly includeHidden: includeHidden includeSystem: includeSystem];
if (success == NO) {
    NSLog(@"%@",zip.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  We can inspect the entries that have been added to the Zip object.
//  At this stage, the entries are still references to files in the local filesystem.
CkoZipEntry *entry = [[CkoZipEntry alloc] init];
int count = [zip.NumEntries intValue];
int i = 0;
while (i < count) {
    [zip EntryAt: [NSNumber numberWithInt: i] entry: entry];
    NSLog(@"%@%@%d",entry.FileName,@" entryType = ",[entry.EntryType intValue]);
    i = i + 1;
}

NSLog(@"%@",@"----");

//  Sample output for the above loop:
//  
//  hamlet.xml entryType = 1
//  hello.pdf entryType = 1
//  ...
//  ...
//  
//  entryType = 1 means "File Entry".
//  A File Entry is a reference to a file in the local filesystem.
//  The file data has not yet been read into the Zip object.
//  
//  Possible entryType values:
//  
//  0 - Mapped Entry:
//      An entry that already exists in an open .zip file.
//  
//  1 - File Entry:
//      A file in the local filesystem that has been referenced, but not yet
//      read or compressed.  These entries are added by methods such as
//      AppendFiles, AppendFilesEx, and AddFile.
//  
//  2 - Data Entry:
//      An entry containing uncompressed data already held in memory.
//      These entries are added by methods such as AddData, AddString,
//      AddSb, AddBd, and AddEncoded.
//  
//  3 - Null Entry:
//      An entry that no longer exists in the .zip.
//  
//  4 - New Directory Entry:
//      A directory entry added by calling AddEmpty.

//  Additional entries can still be added before the .zip is written.
//  This entry is created from an in-memory string, so it is a Data Entry
//  rather than a File Entry.
[zip AddString: @"helloWorld.txt" content: @"Hello World" charset: @"utf-8"];

//  Inspect the Zip object again before writing.
//  The file references are still entryType = 1.
//  The in-memory string entry is entryType = 2.
count = [zip.NumEntries intValue];
i = 0;
while (i < count) {
    [zip EntryAt: [NSNumber numberWithInt: i] entry: entry];
    NSLog(@"%@%@%d",entry.FileName,@" entryType = ",[entry.EntryType intValue]);
    i = i + 1;
}

NSLog(@"%@",@"----");

//  Sample output:
//  
//  hamlet.xml entryType = 1
//  hello.pdf entryType = 1
//  ...
//  ...
//  helloWorld.txt entryType = 2
//  
//  helloWorld.txt has entryType = 2 because its contents came from memory.
//  It is not a reference to a file in the local filesystem.

//  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
//  Write the Zip object to the .zip file.
//  
//  During this call, Chilkat reads the referenced files from the local filesystem,
//  compresses the data as needed, and writes the final .zip archive.
zip.FileName = zipPath;
success = [zip WriteZip];
if (success == NO) {
    NSLog(@"%@",zip.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  After WriteZip returns successfully, the .zip file is written and remains
//  open in the Zip object.  The entries now correspond to entries in the
//  currently open .zip archive.
count = [zip.NumEntries intValue];
i = 0;
while (i < count) {
    [zip EntryAt: [NSNumber numberWithInt: i] entry: entry];
    NSLog(@"%@%@%d",entry.FileName,@" entryType = ",[entry.EntryType intValue]);
    i = i + 1;
}

NSLog(@"%@",@"----");

//  Sample output:
//  
//  hamlet.xml entryType = 0
//  hello.pdf entryType = 0
//  ...
//  ...
//  helloWorld.txt entryType = 0
//  
//  entryType = 0 means "Mapped Entry".
//  A Mapped Entry is an entry that exists in an open .zip file.

//  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
//  The .zip remains open after WriteZip, so additional entries can still be added.
//  
//  This adds another in-memory string entry to the currently open Zip object.
[zip AddString: @"helloWorld2.txt" content: @"Hello World 2" charset: @"utf-8"];

//  Write the .zip again to include the newly added entry.
success = [zip WriteZip];
if (success == NO) {
    NSLog(@"%@",zip.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  Inspect the entries one final time.
//  After the second WriteZip, the new entry is also mapped to the open .zip file.
count = [zip.NumEntries intValue];
i = 0;
while (i < count) {
    [zip EntryAt: [NSNumber numberWithInt: i] entry: entry];
    NSLog(@"%@%@%d",entry.FileName,@" entryType = ",[entry.EntryType intValue]);
    i = i + 1;
}

NSLog(@"%@",@"----");

//  Sample output:
//  
//  hamlet.xml entryType = 0
//  hello.pdf entryType = 0
//  ...
//  ...
//  helloWorld.txt entryType = 0
//  helloWorld2.txt entryType = 0

//  Close the open .zip archive and clear the Zip object.
[zip CloseZip];

NSLog(@"%@",@"Success");