zlib1gdev

zlib1gdev is the development package for the zlib data compression library on Debian-based systems. It provides the header files and linker support needed to compile software that uses zlib. The development package complements the runtime library, enabling developers to build applications that incorporate zlib’s functionality.

Zlib is a general-purpose, lossless data compression library that implements the DEFLATE algorithm, along with simple APIs for compressing and decompressing data. It is designed to be portable, lightweight, and efficient, and is widely used across many applications and protocols. Developers typically link against the library when building C or C++ software that requires compression or decompression capabilities.

In practice, installing zlib1gdev gives access to the public headers, such as zlib.h and zconf.h, and the necessary library files for linking, enabling use of the -lz option during compilation. It is commonly installed alongside the runtime zlib1g package, which provides the shared library used at run time.

Naming and availability vary by distribution. On Debian and derivatives, the development package is usually named zlib1g-dev (not zlib1gdev), and it depends on the corresponding runtime library. It may also provide a pkg-config file to simplify integration with build systems.

Licensing for zlib and its development package is the zlib license, a permissive license that allows broad use and redistribution. The zlib project was created by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler and has become a staple component in many software toolchains. zlib1gdev itself is not required to run programs, but is essential for building software that links against zlib.