(PowerBuilder) Compressing StringBuilder Data Using CompressSb (Single Call and Chunked)

See more Compression Examples

1. Single-call compression, where the entire input is compressed in one operation.
2. Chunked compression, where the input is split into multiple parts and processed sequentially using the FirstChunk and LastChunk properties.

The example shows how compressed output is appended to a BinData object, and how the result can be verified by decompressing back to the original text. This is useful for both simple use cases and scenarios where data is processed incrementally (such as streaming or large inputs).

Key Points

• CompressSb converts text to bytes using the Charset property (UTF-8 recommended).
• Compressed data is appended to a BinData object.
• When both FirstChunk and LastChunk are true, compression is done in a single call.
• For chunked processing:
  • First chunk → FirstChunk = true, LastChunk = false
  • Middle chunks → both false
  • Final chunk → LastChunk = true
• Chunked compression is useful when processing data incrementally.

Chilkat ActiveX Downloads ActiveX for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows

integer li_rc
integer li_Success
oleobject loo_Compress
oleobject loo_Sb
oleobject loo_BdCompressed
string ls_CompressedBase64
oleobject loo_BdChunkedOut
oleobject loo_SbPart
string ls_ChunkedBase64
oleobject loo_SbDecompressed

li_Success = 0

// This example assumes the Chilkat API has already been unlocked.
// See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

loo_Compress = create oleobject
li_rc = loo_Compress.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.Compression")
if li_rc < 0 then
    destroy loo_Compress
    MessageBox("Error","Connecting to COM object failed")
    return
end if
loo_Compress.Algorithm = "zlib"

// ================================================================
// 1) Single-call compression (entire data in one call)
// ================================================================

loo_Sb = create oleobject
li_rc = loo_Sb.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.StringBuilder")

loo_Sb.Append("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ")
loo_Sb.Append("This is a simple example using CompressSb.")

loo_BdCompressed = create oleobject
li_rc = loo_BdCompressed.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.BinData")

// When both FirstChunk and LastChunk are true (the defaults),
// the entire compression happens in a single call.
loo_Compress.FirstChunk = 1
loo_Compress.LastChunk = 1

li_Success = loo_Compress.CompressSb(loo_Sb,loo_BdCompressed)
if li_Success = 0 then
    Write-Debug loo_Compress.LastErrorText
    destroy loo_Compress
    destroy loo_Sb
    destroy loo_BdCompressed
    return
end if

ls_CompressedBase64 = loo_BdCompressed.GetEncoded("base64")

Write-Debug "Single-call compressed (base64):"
Write-Debug ls_CompressedBase64

// ================================================================
// 2) Chunked compression using FirstChunk / LastChunk
// ================================================================

loo_BdChunkedOut = create oleobject
li_rc = loo_BdChunkedOut.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.BinData")

// First chunk
loo_Compress.FirstChunk = 1
loo_Compress.LastChunk = 0

loo_SbPart = create oleobject
li_rc = loo_SbPart.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.StringBuilder")

loo_SbPart.Append("The quick brown fox ")

li_Success = loo_Compress.CompressSb(loo_SbPart,loo_BdChunkedOut)
if li_Success = 0 then
    Write-Debug loo_Compress.LastErrorText
    destroy loo_Compress
    destroy loo_Sb
    destroy loo_BdCompressed
    destroy loo_BdChunkedOut
    destroy loo_SbPart
    return
end if

// Middle chunk
loo_Compress.FirstChunk = 0
loo_Compress.LastChunk = 0

loo_SbPart.Clear()
loo_SbPart.Append("jumps over the lazy dog. ")

li_Success = loo_Compress.CompressSb(loo_SbPart,loo_BdChunkedOut)
if li_Success = 0 then
    Write-Debug loo_Compress.LastErrorText
    destroy loo_Compress
    destroy loo_Sb
    destroy loo_BdCompressed
    destroy loo_BdChunkedOut
    destroy loo_SbPart
    return
end if

// Final chunk
loo_Compress.FirstChunk = 0
loo_Compress.LastChunk = 1

loo_SbPart.Clear()
loo_SbPart.Append("This is a chunked CompressSb example.")

li_Success = loo_Compress.CompressSb(loo_SbPart,loo_BdChunkedOut)
if li_Success = 0 then
    Write-Debug loo_Compress.LastErrorText
    destroy loo_Compress
    destroy loo_Sb
    destroy loo_BdCompressed
    destroy loo_BdChunkedOut
    destroy loo_SbPart
    return
end if

ls_ChunkedBase64 = loo_BdChunkedOut.GetEncoded("base64")

Write-Debug "Chunked compressed (base64):"
Write-Debug ls_ChunkedBase64

// ================================================================
// 3) Decompress to verify correctness
// ================================================================

loo_SbDecompressed = create oleobject
li_rc = loo_SbDecompressed.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.StringBuilder")

// Decompress in a single call (entire data already assembled)
loo_Compress.FirstChunk = 1
loo_Compress.LastChunk = 1

li_Success = loo_Compress.DecompressSb(loo_BdChunkedOut,loo_SbDecompressed)
if li_Success = 0 then
    Write-Debug loo_Compress.LastErrorText
    destroy loo_Compress
    destroy loo_Sb
    destroy loo_BdCompressed
    destroy loo_BdChunkedOut
    destroy loo_SbPart
    destroy loo_SbDecompressed
    return
end if

Write-Debug "Decompressed text:"
Write-Debug loo_SbDecompressed.GetAsString()


destroy loo_Compress
destroy loo_Sb
destroy loo_BdCompressed
destroy loo_BdChunkedOut
destroy loo_SbPart
destroy loo_SbDecompressed