To determine the capabilities of the library, and the binary compatibility version of any particular compressor or decompressor, use the mspack_version() function. The UNIX library interface version is defined as the highest-versioned library component.
If compiled normally, the library includes basic file I/O and memory management functionality using the standard C library. This can be customised and replaced entirely by creating a mspack_system structure.
A compressor or decompressor for the required format must be instantiated before it can be used. Each construction function takes one parameter, which is either a pointer to a custom mspack_system structure, or NULL to use the default. The instantiation returned, if not NULL, contains function pointers (methods) to work with the given file format.
For compression:
For decompression:
Once finished working with a format, each kind of compressor/decompressor has its own specific destructor:
Destroying a compressor or decompressor does not destroy any objects, structures or handles that have been created using that compressor or decompressor. Ensure that everything created or opened is destroyed or closed before compressor/decompressor is itself destroyed.