# LZ4

LZ4 is a lossless compression algorithm, providing compression speed greater than 500 MB/s per core. It features an extremely fast decoder, with speed in multiple GB/s per core. LZ4 can work with Zstandard to allow both algorithms to compress data faster.

## Features

- Extremely fast compression (500+ MB/s per core)
- Very fast decoder (multi-GB/s per core)
- Lossless compression algorithm
- Compatible with Zstandard
- Streaming compression support
- Frame format for integrity checking

## Installed Programs

- `lz4` - Compresses or decompresses files using the LZ4 format
- `lz4c` - Compresses files using the LZ4 format (link to lz4)
- `lz4cat` - Lists the contents of a file compressed using the LZ4 format (link to lz4)
- `unlz4` - Decompresses files using the LZ4 format (link to lz4)

## Installed Library

- `liblz4.so` - The library implementing lossless data compression, using the LZ4 algorithm

## Usage Examples

### Basic Compression
```bash
# Compress a file
lz4 file.txt file.txt.lz4

# Decompress a file
lz4 -d file.txt.lz4 file.txt
```

### Using with pipes
```bash
# Compress output of a command
tar -cf - /path/to/directory | lz4 > archive.tar.lz4

# Decompress to pipe
lz4 -d archive.tar.lz4 | tar -xf -
```

### Using the library
The LZ4 library can be used in C/C++ applications to provide fast compression and decompression capabilities.

## Performance

LZ4 is designed for speed-critical applications where compression ratio is secondary. It offers:

- Compression speeds over 500 MB/s per core
- Decompression speeds over 1 GB/s per core
- Trade-off between compression speed and ratio

## License

This package is distributed under the BSD 2-Clause License.