add framing format spec file

snappy/framing_format.txt

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+Snappy framing format description
+Last revised: 2013-10-25
+
+This format decribes a framing format for Snappy, allowing compressing to
+files or streams that can then more easily be decompressed without having
+to hold the entire stream in memory. It also provides data checksums to
+help verify integrity. It does not provide metadata checksums, so it does
+not protect against e.g. all forms of truncations.
+
+Implementation of the framing format is optional for Snappy compressors and
+decompressor; it is not part of the Snappy core specification.
+
+
+1. General structure
+
+The file consists solely of chunks, lying back-to-back with no padding
+in between. Each chunk consists first a single byte of chunk identifier,
+then a three-byte little-endian length of the chunk in bytes (from 0 to
+16777215, inclusive), and then the data if any. The four bytes of chunk
+header is not counted in the data length.
+
+The different chunk types are listed below. The first chunk must always
+be the stream identifier chunk (see section 4.1, below). The stream
+ends when the file ends -- there is no explicit end-of-file marker.
+
+
+2. File type identification
+
+The following identifiers for this format are recommended where appropriate.
+However, note that none have been registered officially, so this is only to
+be taken as a guideline. We use "Snappy framed" to distinguish between this
+format and raw Snappy data.
+
+  File extension:         .sz
+  MIME type:              application/x-snappy-framed
+  HTTP Content-Encoding:  x-snappy-framed
+
+
+3. Checksum format
+
+Some chunks have data protected by a checksum (the ones that do will say so
+explicitly). The checksums are always masked CRC-32Cs.
+
+A description of CRC-32C can be found in RFC 3720, section 12.1, with
+examples in section B.4.
+
+Checksums are not stored directly, but masked, as checksumming data and
+then its own checksum can be problematic. The masking is the same as used
+in Apache Hadoop: Rotate the checksum by 15 bits, then add the constant
+0xa282ead8 (using wraparound as normal for unsigned integers). This is
+equivalent to the following C code:
+
+  uint32_t mask_checksum(uint32_t x) {
+    return ((x >> 15) | (x << 17)) + 0xa282ead8;
+  }
+
+Note that the masking is reversible.
+
+The checksum is always stored as a four bytes long integer, in little-endian.
+
+
+4. Chunk types
+
+The currently supported chunk types are described below. The list may
+be extended in the future.
+
+
+4.1. Stream identifier (chunk type 0xff)
+
+The stream identifier is always the first element in the stream.
+It is exactly six bytes long and contains "sNaPpY" in ASCII. This means that
+a valid Snappy framed stream always starts with the bytes
+
+  0xff 0x06 0x00 0x00 0x73 0x4e 0x61 0x50 0x70 0x59
+
+The stream identifier chunk can come multiple times in the stream besides
+the first; if such a chunk shows up, it should simply be ignored, assuming
+it has the right length and contents. This allows for easy concatenation of
+compressed files without the need for re-framing.
+
+
+4.2. Compressed data (chunk type 0x00)
+
+Compressed data chunks contain a normal Snappy compressed bitstream;
+see the compressed format specification. The compressed data is preceded by
+the CRC-32C (see section 3) of the _uncompressed_ data.
+
+Note that the data portion of the chunk, i.e., the compressed contents,
+can be at most 16777211 bytes (2^24 - 1, minus the checksum).
+However, we place an additional restriction that the uncompressed data
+in a chunk must be no longer than 65536 bytes. This allows consumers to
+easily use small fixed-size buffers.
+
+
+4.3. Uncompressed data (chunk type 0x01)
+
+Uncompressed data chunks allow a compressor to send uncompressed,
+raw data; this is useful if, for instance, uncompressible or
+near-incompressible data is detected, and faster decompression is desired.
+
+As in the compressed chunks, the data is preceded by its own masked
+CRC-32C (see section 3).
+
+An uncompressed data chunk, like compressed data chunks, should contain
+no more than 65536 data bytes, so the maximum legal chunk length with the
+checksum is 65540.
+
+
+4.4. Padding (chunk type 0xfe)
+
+Padding chunks allow a compressor to increase the size of the data stream
+so that it complies with external demands, e.g. that the total number of
+bytes is a multiple of some value.
+
+All bytes of the padding chunk, except the chunk byte itself and the length,
+should be zero, but decompressors must not try to interpret or verify the
+padding data in any way.
+
+
+4.5. Reserved unskippable chunks (chunk types 0x02-0x7f)
+
+These are reserved for future expansion. A decoder that sees such a chunk
+should immediately return an error, as it must assume it cannot decode the
+stream correctly.
+
+Future versions of this specification may define meanings for these chunks.
+
+
+4.6. Reserved skippable chunks (chunk types 0x80-0xfd)
+
+These are also reserved for future expansion, but unlike the chunks
+described in 4.5, a decoder seeing these must skip them and continue
+decoding.
+
+Future versions of this specification may define meanings for these chunks.