NightCompress

A Java wrapper around libarchive. NightCompress uses the newer Foreign Linker API available in JDK 21 to access native libraries.

How it works

NightCompress is released as a multi-release JAR:

• with Java < 21 as a no-op version that throws UnsupportedOperationException on any operation
• with Java 21 all the features are available
• the JAR is not compatible with other Java versions, as the Foreign Linker APIs are still changing

This lets you add the dependency in your project whatever the JDK used, and still enable the feature at runtime if the required JDK is used.

Requirements

In order for the JAR to run properly, you will need to:

• Run Java 21 with the following options:

--enable-preview --enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED

• Make sure the path to the directory containing the native libraries is contained in the Java system property java.library.path (check also this).
  • For Linux, normally it works fine when installed from a package manager. You can add the libraries' path to the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
  • For Mac, if using HomeBrew, you will need to set JAVA_LIBRARY_PATH to /usr/local/lib/ or /opt/homebrew/lib/.

Installation

Gradle

runtimeOnly "com.github.gotson.nightcompress:nightcompress:{version}"

Gradle (Kotlin DSL)

runtimeOnly("com.github.gotson.nightcompress:nightcompress:{version}")

Maven

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.github.gotson.nightcompress</groupId>
  <artifactId>nightcompress</artifactId>
  <version>{version}</version>
</dependency>

Usage

Check if the library is available

try {
  if (Archive.isAvailable()) {
    // do stuff
  }
} catch(Exception e) {
  // to be on the safe side
}

Extract from a Path to an OutputStream

// Assuming you already have a Path pointing to the archive file and an OutputStream for writing to
Archive archive = new Archive(path);
while (archive.getNextEntry() !=null) {
  try (InputStream is = archive.getInputStream()) {
    is.transferTo(outputStream);
  }
}

// Assuming you already know which entry you want to extract
try (InputStream is = Archive.getInputStream(path, entryName)) {
  is.transferTo(outputStream);
}

Configuration

NightCompress allows for some tuning using System Properties:

• Options for Archive#getInputStream(Path):
  • nightcompress.extractor.buffer-size: accepts any positive integer. Defaults to 32 * 1024.
    • Sets the maximum size used for the dynamic byte buffer in the PipedInputStream.
  • nightcompress.extractor.use-executor: accepts either true or false. Defaults to true.
    • If true, it uses a cached thread pool for extracting the contents, which is generally faster.
    • If false, it will create a new thread on each call. This may be slower, but may require slightly less memory.
    • Options for tuning the thread pool:
      • nightcompress.extractor.max-threads: accepts any positive integer. Defaults to 2^31.
        • Sets the maximum number of threads to be used in the pool. By default, there is no hard limit on the number of threads, but they are only created when needed, so the maximum should not exceed the number of threads calling this method at any given moment. Use this if you need to restrict the number of threads.
      • nightcompress.extractor.thread-keep-alive-seconds: accepts any positive integer. Defaults to 5.
        • Sets the number of seconds a thread can be kept alive in the pool, waiting for a next extraction operation. After that time, the thread may be stopped.