Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)

Compress a String to Gzip and Return as Base64

See more Gzip Examples

This example demonstrates how to use the CompressStringENC method to compress a string into Gzip format and return the result as an encoded string.

The input string is first converted to its byte representation using the specified character set (in this case, UTF-8). The bytes are then compressed using the Gzip format. Finally, the compressed binary data is encoded as a Base64 string.

Returning the compressed data as an encoded string is useful for safely transmitting or storing the data in text-based systems such as JSON, XML, or HTTP headers.

Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)

program ChilkatDemo;

// Demonstrates using the Chilkat Pascal wrapper via the C bridge DLL.
// Builds as a console application under Lazarus (FPC) or Delphi.

{$IFDEF FPC}
  {$MODE DELPHI}
{$ENDIF}
{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}

uses
  {$IFDEF UNIX}
  cthreads,
  {$ENDIF}
  SysUtils,
  CkDllLoader,
  Chilkat.Gzip;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

procedure RunDemo;
var
  gzip: TGzip;
  inputStr: string;
  compressedBase64: string;

begin
  //  This example demonstrates how to compress a string into Gzip format
  //  and return the compressed result as a Base64-encoded string.

  gzip := TGzip.Create;

  //  The string to be compressed:
  inputStr := 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.';

  //  Compress the string using UTF-8, and return the result as Base64:
  compressedBase64 := gzip.CompressStringENC(inputStr,'utf-8','base64');
  if (gzip.LastMethodSuccess = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(gzip.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  WriteLn('Original string: ' + inputStr);
  WriteLn('Compressed (Base64): ' + compressedBase64);

  //  Note: For very small strings, the compressed output may actually be larger
  //  than the original. This is because the Gzip format adds overhead such as
  //  headers and metadata. As the size of the input string increases, the
  //  compression becomes more effective and results in a smaller output.


  gzip.Free;

end;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

begin

  try
    RunDemo;
  except
    on E: Exception do
      WriteLn('Unhandled exception: ', E.ClassName, ': ', E.Message);
  end;

  WriteLn;
  {$IFDEF MSWINDOWS}
  WriteLn('Press Enter to exit...');
  ReadLn;
  {$ENDIF}
end.