GrindCore Native

GrindCore is a multiplatform C library providing modern compression and hashing algorithms, designed primarily for integration with .NET and similar managed runtimes. It serves as the native core for the GrindCore .NET wrapper.

Overview

GrindCore Native unifies multiple C compression and hashing libraries into a single, maintainable, and portable codebase. It is built using the same CMake-based approach as the .NET runtime, ensuring compatibility and ease of updates as upstream libraries evolve. The project is designed to:

• Provide byte-perfect, deterministic compression for scenarios requiring exact output (e.g., archival, checksumming, reproducible builds)
• Support multiple versions of key algorithms for maximum compatibility
• Enable easy integration with managed runtimes (e.g., .NET, Mono, CoreRT, WASM)
• Offer both streaming and block APIs for flexible usage

Supported Platforms

GrindCore Native is tested and built for:

• Windows: x64, x86, ARM64
• Linux: x64, x86, ARM64, ARM
• macOS: x64, ARM64

Other platforms may work with minimal changes. The build system is CMake-based and supports cross-compilation.

Key Features

• Modern Compression: Integrates Brotli, Zstd, LZ4, LZMA, Fast-LZMA2, ZLib, ZLib-NG, and more
• Multiple Versions: Includes multiple versions of Zstd, ZLib, and other libraries for compatibility
• Hashing Suite: Provides a wide range of cryptographic and non-cryptographic hashes
• No Third-Party Binaries: All code is built from source, no external binaries required
• AOT/Native Friendly: Designed for use in AOT and native scenarios (e.g., .NET Native, CoreRT)
• Consistent APIs: Streaming and block APIs for compression; hash APIs compatible with standard C patterns
• Actively Maintained: Regularly updated as upstream libraries release new versions

Compression Algorithms

All algorithms are built from source and included in the repository. Supported algorithms and versions:

• Brotli v1.1.0 (from .NET 9.0)
• Copy (no compression - direct stream copy)
• LZ4 v1.10.0 (from LZ4)
• LZMA v25.1.0 (from 7Zip App)
• LZMA2 v25.1.0 (from 7Zip App)
• Fast-LZMA2 v1.0.1 (from 7Zip-mcmilk)
• ZLib v1.3.1 (GZip, ZLib, Deflate - from .NET 8.0)
• ZLib-NG v2.2.1 (GZip, ZLib, Deflate - from .NET 9.0)
• ZStd v1.5.7 & v1.5.2 (from Facebook)

Notes:

• Multiple versions are included to support projects requiring pinned/frozen algorithms for byte-perfect output
• All algorithms are available as both streaming and block APIs
• Dictionary and advanced options are planned for future releases

Hashing Algorithms

GrindCore Native provides a comprehensive suite of hash functions:

• Blake3, Blake2sp
• MD5, MD4, MD2
• SHA1
• SHA2 [SHA256, SHA384, SHA512]
• SHA3 [SHA3-224, SHA3-256, SHA3-384, SHA3-512]
• XXHash [XXH32, XXH64]

License

GrindCore Native is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details. Upstream libraries are included under their respective licenses.