SharpZipLib

I recently tried out #ziplib, a free compression library for the .NET Framework that supports various data formats. The library supports four different compression and archive formats, including Zip, Gzip, Tar, and Bzip2. Zip format archives multiple files into a single file and uses the deflate algorithm for compression. Gzip format is often used in Unix and GNU Linux systems and doesn't archive multiple files, but it does use the same compression algorithm as Zip. Tar archives a set of files and directories into one file but doesn't compress the files. Bzip2 uses the same format as gzip but a different compression algorithm called BWT, which results in better compression but is slower.

In addition to compression and archive formats, #ziplib also computes checksums for secure data handling. The library was written entirely in C# and is a strong-named assembly, making it easy to share with other applications or use in other projects when registered in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). The library was ported to .NET from the GNU Classpath ZIP library for Java.

However, there are some limitations to the library. For instance, it currently lacks support for Zip file splitting/spanning, creating custom self-extracting Zip files, and reading/writing files to memory. Furthermore, the project for the library included in the download is intended to be used in ic#code's own IDE, #develop (SharpDevelop). Although it's still a work in progress, #develop offers programmers a free Windows Forms designer that's similar to VS.NET for C# and VB.NET. The library and its source code are distributed under the GNU General Public License, with an exception. Overall, I found #ziplib to be a useful and reliable library for compression and archive tasks.