X-Git-Url: https://wimlib.net/git/?p=wimlib;a=blobdiff_plain;f=README.WINDOWS;h=66babca330ef2e15265ac2852c67a0dac72dff00;hp=a0521f023e394f4245e3af38a8ab40fec3cf4562;hb=50a73294df28e50188565ea88b72ed13c87ce4bf;hpb=09301b8018e00f51ba96ba02adca676e817b8827 diff --git a/README.WINDOWS b/README.WINDOWS index a0521f02..66babca3 100644 --- a/README.WINDOWS +++ b/README.WINDOWS @@ -1,41 +1,76 @@ -wimlib 1.3.0 has added experimental support for Windows builds. These builds -include both the "wimlib" library (built as a DLL) and the "imagex" executable. -The Windows builds use native Win32 calls when appropriate to handle alternate -data streams, security descriptors, and reparse points. + INTRODUCTION -Windows support currently has the following limitations: +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. -- It relies on the Cygwin UNIX-compatibility layer. You do not, however, need - to have the Cygwin distribution installed to run it, as I have posted a ZIP - file on SourceForge that contains the build of wimlib along with the DLLs - needed for it to run. Please note that these DLLs are free and open source - software; see http://www.cygwin.com/ for more details. + WINDOWS DISTRIBUTION -- Mounting WIM files is not supported. On Windows there is no equivalent of - FUSE, which I used to get mounting working on Linux and BSD, so I would have - to program a "Filesystem Filter" driver with Microsoft's eccentric API. +The Windows distribution of wimlib is a ZIP file containing the following items: -- wimlib's API is not compatible with Microsoft's WIMGAPI, although they offer - some of the same functionality. + * 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. -So to be clear: + * Very short batch scripts (e.g. wimapply.cmd) which are shortcuts to the + corresponding wimlib-imagex commands (e.g. `wimlib-imagex apply'). -"imagex capture", "imagex append", and "imagex apply" will work on Windows and -have the added advantage of saving and restoring alternate data streams, -security descriptors, and reparse points. + * The documentation, including this file, the generic README.txt, and + PDF documentation for wimlib-imagex in the 'doc' directory. -"imagex delete", "imagex dir", "imagex export", "imagex info", "imagex join", -"imagex optimize", and "imagex split" are all portable and should work the same -way on Windows as on UNIX. + * The library itself (libwim-15.dll). The C header wimlib.h is not + included; download the source if you want it. -"imagex mount", "imagex mountrw", and "imagex unmount" will NOT work on Windows. + * License files for all software included. These are all free software + licenses. -So on Windows, why would you want to use wimlib's ImageX instead of Microsoft's? -Well, here are a few reasons: + WIMLIB-IMAGEX -- wimlib can be freely distributed; there is no need to download a 1.8 gigabyte - "Windows Automated Installation Kit". -- wimlib offers fast multithreaded compression, so making WIM images can be much - faster. -- wimlib is free software, so you can modify and/or audit the source code. +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/.