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GDeflate Compressor

A GPU-accelerated deflate compression application using NVIDIA's nvCOMP library, available in both GUI and console versions.

Applications

GDeflateGUI

A Windows Forms desktop application with an intuitive graphical interface for file compression and decompression operations.

GDeflateConsole

A cross-platform command-line application that provides the same compression functionality through a terminal interface.

Building the Application

Automated Build (GitHub Actions)

This repository includes a GitHub Actions workflow that automatically builds the application when code is pushed to the main or develop branches, or when a pull request is created.

The workflow creates two build variants:

  1. Self-contained executable (GDeflate-Compressor-Windows-x64):

    • Includes the .NET runtime
    • Can run on Windows machines without .NET 9.0 installed
    • Larger file size but more portable

  2. Framework-dependent executable (GDeflate-Compressor-Framework-Dependent):

    • Requires .NET 9.0 runtime to be installed on the target machine
    • Smaller file size
    • Faster startup time

Manual Build

To build the applications manually:

  1. Install .NET 9.0 SDK
  2. Clone this repository
  3. Navigate to the project directory
  4. Run the following commands:

Building the GUI Application

# Restore dependencies
dotnet restore GDeflateGUI/GDeflateGUI.csproj

# Build the application
dotnet build GDeflateGUI/GDeflateGUI.csproj --configuration Release

# Publish self-contained executable (Windows only)
dotnet publish GDeflateGUI/GDeflateGUI.csproj --configuration Release --output ./publish-gui --self-contained true --runtime win-x64

# Or publish framework-dependent executable (Windows only)
dotnet publish GDeflateGUI/GDeflateGUI.csproj --configuration Release --output ./publish-gui --self-contained false

Building the Console Application

# Build the console application (cross-platform)
dotnet build GDeflateConsole/GDeflateConsole.csproj --configuration Release

# Publish for current platform
dotnet publish GDeflateConsole/GDeflateConsole.csproj --configuration Release --output ./publish-console

# Or publish for specific platforms
dotnet publish GDeflateConsole/GDeflateConsole.csproj --configuration Release --output ./publish-console-win --runtime win-x64
dotnet publish GDeflateConsole/GDeflateConsole.csproj --configuration Release --output ./publish-console-linux --runtime linux-x64
dotnet publish GDeflateConsole/GDeflateConsole.csproj --configuration Release --output ./publish-console-mac --runtime osx-x64

Downloading Built Executables

  1. Go to the Actions tab in this repository
  2. Click on the latest successful build
  3. Download the desired artifact:
    • GDeflate-Compressor-Windows-x64 for the self-contained version
    • GDeflate-Compressor-Framework-Dependent for the framework-dependent version

Usage

GUI Application (GDeflateGUI)

  1. Launch the application
  2. Use "Add Files..." to select individual files for compression
  3. Use "Add Folder..." to add all files from a directory
  4. Click "Compress" to compress all added files (creates .gdef files)
  5. Use "Decompress" to decompress .gdef files back to their original format

Features:

  • Drag-and-drop file selection
  • Batch compression/decompression
  • Progress tracking
  • Error handling with user-friendly messages
  • Cross-platform compatibility improvements

Console Application (GDeflateConsole)

The console application provides command-line access to compression functionality with automatic GPU detection and fallback:

# Compress a file
GDeflateConsole compress input.txt

# Decompress a file
GDeflateConsole decompress input.gdef

# List files in a directory
GDeflateConsole list [directory-path]

# Run built-in tests
GDeflateConsole test

GPU Acceleration:

  • Automatic Detection: The application automatically detects CUDA and nvCOMP availability
  • GPU Mode: Uses NVIDIA GPU acceleration when available (Windows with CUDA runtime and nvCOMP library)
  • Simulation Mode: Falls back to simulation mode for testing on systems without GPU support
  • Cross-Platform: Runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS (simulation mode on non-Windows platforms)

Examples:

# Compress a single file (GPU accelerated if available)
dotnet run --project GDeflateConsole compress document.pdf

# Decompress a file (GPU accelerated if available)
dotnet run --project GDeflateConsole decompress document.pdf.gdef

# List files in current directory
dotnet run --project GDeflateConsole list .

# Run comprehensive tests
dotnet run --project GDeflateConsole test

# List files in specific directory
dotnet run --project GDeflateConsole list /path/to/files

Technical Implementation

GPU Acceleration Architecture

The application uses a sophisticated GPU detection and fallback system:

  1. Runtime Detection: Automatically detects CUDA runtime and nvCOMP library availability
  2. Graceful Fallback: Seamlessly switches to simulation mode when GPU resources are unavailable
  3. Cross-Platform Support: Maintains functionality across Windows, Linux, and macOS
  4. Memory Management: Proper CUDA memory allocation and cleanup with comprehensive error handling

Console Application Features

  • Dual-Mode Operation: Real GPU acceleration when available, simulation mode otherwise
  • Built-in Testing: Comprehensive test suite for validation
  • Performance Monitoring: Timing and compression ratio reporting
  • Error Recovery: Automatic cleanup of partial files on failure

Recent Improvements

Enhanced Error Handling

  • Added comprehensive error handling to prevent crashes during file operations
  • Improved user feedback with clear error messages and recovery suggestions
  • Platform detection for better cross-platform compatibility

Console Application GPU Integration

  • Real GPU Support: Full integration with CUDA and nvCOMP libraries
  • Automatic Detection: Runtime detection of GPU capabilities
  • Simulation Fallback: Maintains functionality on systems without GPU support
  • Cross-platform Testing: Built-in test suite works on all platforms

Robustness Improvements

  • Better handling of file selection dialog failures
  • Graceful degradation when platform-specific features are unavailable
  • Enhanced status reporting and user guidance
  • Proper resource cleanup and memory management

Requirements

For GUI Application

  • Windows operating system (Windows Forms requirement)
  • .NET 9.0 runtime (for framework-dependent builds)
  • NVIDIA GPU with CUDA support (for actual GPU acceleration)

For Console Application

  • Any operating system supported by .NET 9.0 (Windows, Linux, macOS)
  • .NET 9.0 runtime
  • NVIDIA GPU with CUDA support (for actual GPU acceleration, simulation mode available otherwise)

License

This project is licensed under the terms specified in the LICENSE file.