zzd

Project to give an introduction and start learning Zig for a university course. A hexdump utility built with Zig that helps you inspect binary content in a human-readable format.

Features

• Cross-platform support (Windows, Linux, macOS)
• Flexible display options and number formats
• Pattern highlighting capabilities
• Customizable output formatting

Prerequisites

Before installing zzd, ensure you have Zig installed on your system.

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/lvkolb/zzd.git
cd zzd

2. Build and Install

Choose one of the following installation methods:

Method A: Global Installation

# Build and install to /usr/local/bin (requires admin privileges)
zig build install-to-bin

Method B: Local Build

# Just build the project
zig build

Usage

Basic Command

zzd <filename> [options]

Platform-Specific Paths

Windows

zig-out\bin\zzd <filename> [options]

Linux/macOS

zig-out/bin/zzd <filename> [options]

Command-Line Options

Display Options

--line-length=<n>   Set the number of bytes per line (default: 16, max: 64)
--group=<n>         Group bytes in sets of n (default: 1)
--no-ascii          Don't display ASCII representation
--no-offset         Don't display offset column
--color=<n>         Set color display mode

Number Format Options

(default: hex)      Display numbers in hexadecimal
--decimal           Display numbers in decimal
--octal             Display numbers in octal
--binary            Display numbers in binary

Data Selection

--limit=<n>         Limit the number of bytes displayed
--skip=<n>          Skip first n bytes of input

Pattern Matching

--highlight=<hex>   Highlight specific byte sequences (can be used multiple times)

Examples

Basic File Analysis

# Display a file in default hexadecimal format
zzd sequence.bin
zig-out\bin\zzd zzd sequence.bin
zig-out/bin/zzd zzd sequence.bin

# Display with custom line length and grouping
zzd sequence.bin --line-length=32 --group=4
zig-out\bin\zzd zzd sequence.bin --line-length=32 --group=4
zig-out/bin/zzd zzd sequence.bin --line-length=32 --group=4

# Show only decimal values without ASCII
zzd sequence.bin --decimal --no-ascii
zig-out\bin\zzd zzd sequence.bin --decimal --no-ascii
zig-out/bin/zzd zzd sequence.bin --decimal --no-ascii

Advanced Usage

# Skip first 100 bytes and limit output to 500 bytes
zzd large_file.bin --skip=100 --limit=500
zig-out\bin\zzd zzd large_file.bin --skip=100 --limit=500
zig-out/bin/zzd zzd large_file.bin --skip=100 --limit=500

# Highlight specific byte patterns
zzd firmware.bin --highlight=FF00 --highlight=A5
zig-out\bin\zzd zzd firmware.bin --highlight=FF00 --highlight=A5
zig-out/bin/zzd zzd firmware.bin --highlight=FF00 --highlight=A5

# Custom formatting with binary output
zzd data.bin --binary --line-length=8 --group=4
zig-out\bin\zzd zzd data.bin --binary --line-length=8 --group=4
zig-out/bin/zzd zzd data.bin --binary --line-length=8 --group=4

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details