+++ /dev/null
-
- 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 library itself in DLL format (libwim-15.dll). wimlib-imagex.exe
- requires this to run.
-
- * The documentation, including this file, the generic README.txt, and
- PDF documentation for wimlib-imagex in the 'doc' folder.
-
- * License files for all software included. These are all free software
- licenses. COPYING.txt is the main license, and it refers to
- COPYING.GPLv3.txt and COPYING.LGPLv3.txt. The other licenses are for
- third-party software included in the library.
-
- * Development files in the 'devel' folder. These are only needed if you
- are developing C or C++ applications that use wimlib.
-
-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.)
-
- * wimlib-imagex supports imaging a live Windows system. Just use the
- --snapshot option.
-
- * 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
-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/.
-
- BUILDING FROM SOURCE
-
-As with other open source software, advanced users may choose to build wimlib
-from source, potentially with customizations. Currently, wimlib depends on
-MinGW-w64 for its Windows support; Visual Studio is not supported. The Windows
-binaries can be cross-compiled on Linux, or built on Windows using MSYS2 or
-Cygwin. The following instructions show the MSYS2 method.
-
-First, install MSYS2 by running the installer from https://www.msys2.org/.
-
-Then, open an MSYS2 shell and run the following command:
-
- pacman -Syu --noconfirm
-
-After that, open an MSYS2 shell again and run the following commands:
-
- pacman -Syu --noconfirm git
- git clone git://wimlib.net/wimlib
-
-Note: By default the git repository will be on the "master" branch, which is the
-latest development snapshot. Optionally, you can check out a specific version,
-e.g. 'cd wimlib && git checkout v1.14.0'. For old versions, please refer to the
-documentation for that version, as things may have changed. Also, it is
-possible to use a release tarball (e.g. wimlib-1.14.0.tar.gz) instead of the git
-repository; however, the make-windows-release script will not be available in
-that case and you will need to handle more things yourself.
-
-To build 64-bit (x86_64) binaries, close the MSYS2 shell you have open, then
-open "MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit" from the Start menu and run the following commands:
-
- cd wimlib
- tools/make-windows-release --install-msys2-packages --no-docs --no-zip
-
-The output will be in a folder named like "wimlib-1.14.0-windows-x86_64-bin".
-
-For 32-bit (i686) binaries, do the same but use "MSYS2 MinGW 32-bit" instead.
git://wimlib.net / wimlib / blobdiff