- INTRODUCTION
+ INTRODUCTION
-wimlib is free and open source software that is available on both UNIX and
-Windows. This file provides additional information specifically about the
-Windows version of wimlib and the command line tool "wimlib-imagex" that is
-distributed with it. It does not obsolete the generic README.txt, which you
-should read too.
+wimlib is free and open source software that is available on both UNIX-like
+systems and Windows. This file provides additional information specifically
+about the Windows version of wimlib and the command line tool "wimlib-imagex"
+that is distributed with it. It does not obsolete the generic README.txt, which
+you should read too.
WINDOWS DISTRIBUTION
For the convenience of Windows users, the Windows distribution of wimlib is a
ZIP file containing the following items:
- * wimlib-imagex.exe, a command-line tool to deal with WIM (.wim) files that is
- similar to Microsoft's ImageX. This is a ready-to-run executable and not an
- installer.
+ * wimlib-imagex.exe, a command-line tool to deal with WIM (.wim) and split WIM
+ (.swm) files that is similar to Microsoft's ImageX. This is a ready-to-run
+ executable and not an installer.
+
+ * Very short batch scripts (e.g. wimapply.cmd) which are shortcuts to the
+ corresponding wimlib-imagex commands (e.g. `wimlib-imagex apply').
* The documentation, including this file, the generic README.txt, and
PDF documentation for wimlib-imagex in the 'doc' directory.
- * Various DLL (.dll) files, including the wimlib library itself, which are of
- little concern to you if you are not a developer.
+ * Various DLL (.dll) files, including the wimlib library itself
+ (libwim-9.dll). The C header wimlib.h is not included; download the source
+ if you want it.
* License files for all software included. These are all free software
licenses.
- WIMLIB-IMAGEX
+ WIMLIB-IMAGEX
-wimlib-imagex is intended to provide a usable Windows-native equivalent to
-Microsoft's ImageX. The main limitations of wimlib-imagex compared to
-Microsoft's ImageX are the following:
+wimlib-imagex provides most features of Microsoft's ImageX, plus additional
+features. First, the main limitations of wimlib-imagex compared to Microsoft's
+ImageX are the following:
- * Mounting WIM files is not supported on Windows.
+ * Mounting images from a WIM file is not supported on Windows.
- * The LZX ("maximum") compression ratio is several percent worse that
+ * The LZX ("maximum") compression ratio is several percent worse than
Microsoft's implementation.
However, wimlib-imagex provides a number of advantages compared to Microsoft's
-ImageX:
+ImageX, including but not limited to the following:
* wimlib-imagex provides "extract" and "update" commands that can be used to
work around the lack of mount support. These commands are very fast
* wimlib-imagex offers fast multithreaded compression, so making WIM images
can be much faster.
- * wimlib-imagex provides a better XPRESS ("fast", or default compression)
- compression ratio than Microsoft's ImageX.
+ * wimlib-imagex provides a better XPRESS ("fast") compression ratio than
+ Microsoft's ImageX.
* wimlib-imagex provides an easy-to-use "optimize" command to remove wasted
space from WIM files.
- * Whenever possible I have included improved documentation and informational
- output compared to Microsoft's software.
+ * In some cases, wimlib-imagex uses simpler command-line syntax. For
+ example, `wimlib-imagex capture' (or simply `wimcapture') defaults to
+ maximum compression by default, integrity tables are treated as persistent,
+ and in some cases image names need not be explicitly specified.
+
+ * Whenever possible, wimlib-imagex includes improved documentation and
+ informational output compared to Microsoft's software.
- * wimlib can correctly save and restore some combinations of data that
- Microsoft's ImageX runs into bugs on --- for example, uncompressed files in
- compressed directories, or files with alternate data streams and multiple
- hard links.
+ * On Windows, wimlib-imagex can correctly save and restore some combinations
+ of data that Microsoft's ImageX runs into bugs on --- for example,
+ uncompressed files in compressed directories, or files with alternate data
+ streams and multiple hard links.
- * wimlib is free software, so you can modify and/or audit the source code.
+ * wimlib and wimlib-imagex are free software, so you can modify and/or audit
+ the source code.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Currently there is no graphical user interface available for wimlib or
-wimlib-imagex and I do not plan to make one. It's recommended to use
-wimlib-imagex in scripts to avoid having to interactively enter commands.
+wimlib-imagex. It's recommended to use wimlib-imagex in scripts to avoid having
+to interactively enter commands. However, note that wimlib-imagex is largely
+just a command-line front-end for wimlib, and it's possible to use wimlib's API
+in other front-ends or applications.