X-Git-Url: https://wimlib.net/git/?p=wimlib;a=blobdiff_plain;f=README.WINDOWS;h=cd8c7e0e32a2fde946809e4e8f1d3c5bc896b0e7;hp=321650dedd3b5577b6a283c8359aecf76d6e5ac7;hb=a9ab2a09becac4ed51a6f977769b2083b989f2b0;hpb=9ea0c15bd8ae202af6081978468ed2526a2ad4d7 diff --git a/README.WINDOWS b/README.WINDOWS index 321650de..cd8c7e0e 100644 --- a/README.WINDOWS +++ b/README.WINDOWS @@ -1,70 +1,85 @@ - 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: +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), 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. - * Various DLL (.dll) files, including the wimlib library itself, which are of - little concern to you if you are not a developer. + * 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. - WIMLIB-IMAGEX +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 noticably faster. + + 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 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: - * Mounting WIM files is not supported on Windows. + * wimlib-imagex provides "extract" and "update" commands which allow + you to quickly work with WIM images without mounting them. - * The LZX ("maximum") compression ratio is several percent worse that - Microsoft's implementation. + * wimlib-imagex provides an easy-to-use "optimize" command which removes + wasted space from a WIM file and optionally recompresses it with stronger + compression. -However, wimlib-imagex provides a number of advantages compared to Microsoft's -ImageX: + * wimlib includes advanced implementations of all compression algorithms used + in WIM files. They usually outperform and outcompress their Microsoft + equivalents. - * wimlib-imagex provides "extract" and "update" commands that can be used to - work around the lack of mount support. These commands are very fast - compared to mounting and unmounting images with Microsoft's ImageX, so you - may prefer them anyway. + * 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 offers fast multithreaded compression, so making WIM images - can be much faster. + * In many cases, wimlib-imagex has simpler command-line syntax than either + ImageX or DISM. - * wimlib-imagex provides a better XPRESS ("fast", or default compression) - compression ratio than Microsoft's ImageX. + * Whenever possible, wimlib-imagex includes improved documentation and + informational output compared to Microsoft's software. - * wimlib-imagex provides an easy-to-use "optimize" command to remove wasted - space from WIM files. + * wimlib and wimlib-imagex are free software, so you can modify and/or audit + the source code. - * Whenever possible I have included improved documentation and informational - output compared to Microsoft's software. +However, some limitations of wimlib-imagex compared to ImageX and DISM are: - * 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 does not support mounting WIM images. - * wimlib is free software, so you can modify and/or audit the source code. + * wimlib-imagex has no awareness of Windows "packages". 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. +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.