X-Git-Url: https://wimlib.net/git/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=README.WINDOWS;h=c54a773bedab3cbaed3fca4a2003fd86da885582;hb=refs%2Fheads%2Fmaster;hp=781fbe298c5acec3837274ae3ff63592e2c52c37;hpb=21da2526eff64cdb8e3cb509d34af182d764c701;p=wimlib diff --git a/README.WINDOWS b/README.WINDOWS deleted file mode 100644 index 781fbe29..00000000 --- a/README.WINDOWS +++ /dev/null @@ -1,85 +0,0 @@ - - INTRODUCTION - -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 - -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), split WIM - (.swm), and ESD (.esd) files that is inspired by Microsoft's ImageX and - DISM. 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. - - * The library itself (libwim-15.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. - -Note that there are separate ZIP files for 32-bit (i686) and 64-bit (x86_64) -binaries. They are both fully supported, but you should prefer the 64-bit -binaries when possible as they can be noticeably faster. - - WIMLIB-IMAGEX - -wimlib-imagex supports most features of Microsoft's ImageX as well as some -features that are supported by DISM but not by ImageX. wimlib-imagex also -supports some features that neither ImageX nor DISM support. Some of the -advantages of wimlib-imagex compared to ImageX and DISM are: - - * wimlib-imagex provides "extract" and "update" commands which allow - you to quickly work with WIM images without mounting them. - - * wimlib-imagex provides an easy-to-use "optimize" command which removes - wasted space from a WIM file and optionally recompresses it with stronger - compression. - - * wimlib includes advanced implementations of all compression algorithms used - in WIM files. They usually outperform and outcompress their Microsoft - equivalents. - - * wimlib-imagex supports solid WIM files and LZMS compression, for example as - used in ESD (.esd) files. (These are partially supported by recent DISM - versions but not by ImageX.) - - * In many cases, wimlib-imagex has simpler command-line syntax than either - ImageX or DISM. - - * Whenever possible, wimlib-imagex includes improved documentation and - informational output compared to Microsoft's software. - - * wimlib and wimlib-imagex are free software, so you can modify and/or audit - the source code. - -However, some limitations of wimlib-imagex compared to ImageX and DISM are: - - * On Windows, wimlib-imagex does not support mounting WIM images. - - * wimlib-imagex has no awareness of Windows "packages". - - ADDITIONAL NOTES - -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. Currently there is no official graphical user -interface available for wimlib or wimlib-imagex. However, an unofficial, beta, -Windows-only graphical user interface that provides a thin wrapper around -wimlib-imagex can be downloaded at -http://reboot.pro/files/file/485-wimlib-imagex-command-line-compiler/. - -If you want to build your own Windows binaries from source, MinGW-w64 is -required. Configure with --host=i686-w64-mingw32 or --host=x86_64-w64-mingw32. -You will need to satisfy the third-party dependencies (libxml2, winpthreads, and -win-iconv), which in the official releases are statically linked into the DLL.