Where does IronBaseArchive live in the IronZip API?

IronBaseArchive is an abstract class in the IronZip namespace, shipped in IronZip.dll. It derives from Object and implements IDisposable, and is the base type for all IronZip archive classes.

What classes inherit from IronBaseArchive in IronZip?

Four concrete archive classes derive from it: IronZipArchive (.zip), IronTarArchive (.tar), IronGZipArchive (.gz), and IronBZip2Archive (.bz2). Each implements the abstract Save and SaveAs methods for its own format.

Can you construct IronBaseArchive directly?

No. IronBaseArchive is abstract and has only a protected constructor. Create one of the concrete subclasses, then assign it to an IronBaseArchive variable when you need format-agnostic save and dispose handling.

Class IronBaseArchive

Base class for Iron Software Archives

Inheritance

System.Object

IronBaseArchive

Implements

System.IDisposable

Namespace: IronZip

Assembly: IronZip.dll

Syntax

public abstract class IronBaseArchive : Object

The save-and-dispose contract shared by every IronZip archive type lives in IronBaseArchive. It is abstract, so a developer never constructs one directly; instead they create one of the four concrete subclasses and rely on the shared contract when handling archives uniformly. The subclasses are IronZipArchive for ZIP (.zip), IronTarArchive for TAR (.tar), IronGZipArchive for gzip (.gz), and IronBZip2Archive for bzip2 (.bz2).

The contract is small and deliberate. Save and SaveAs(string Path) are abstract, so each subclass writes its own format. Dispose is virtual: the base releases the internal stream, and a subclass overrides it when it has extra resources to free. The shared shape means code that compresses or stores a file can accept an IronBaseArchive parameter and stay format-agnostic, deferring the choice of ZIP, TAR, gzip, or bzip2 to the caller.

When a single format is known, work with the concrete type for its format-specific helpers (IronZipArchive adds editing and encryption that the simpler archives do not). When several formats flow through one code path, type the variable as IronBaseArchive and call the shared Save, SaveAs, and Dispose. The base also owns the internal stream that backs an open archive, which is why disposal matters: an undisposed archive can hold the underlying file or memory until the process ends. A using statement on the concrete type, or an explicit Dispose call through the base reference, releases it promptly.

using IronZip;

IronBaseArchive archive = new IronTarArchive();
archive.SaveAs("output.tar");
archive.Dispose();

The get started guide introduces the archive types, while the create ZIP example and create TAR example show two concrete subclasses in use.

Constructors

IronBaseArchive()

Declaration

protected IronBaseArchive()

Fields

_internalStream

Internal MemoryStream to store ZipOutputStream

Declaration

protected MemoryStream _internalStream

Field Value

Type	Description
System.IO.MemoryStream

_storedArchivePath

File path to store the Archive.

Declaration

protected string _storedArchivePath

Field Value

Type	Description
System.String

isDisposed

Dispose method

Declaration

protected bool isDisposed

Field Value

Type	Description
System.Boolean

Methods

Dispose()

Check the license before using IronZIP

Declaration

public virtual void Dispose()

Exceptions

Type	Condition
IronSoftware.Exceptions.LicensingException

Save()

Save the archive

Declaration

public abstract void Save()

Remarks

Users cannot add additional entries after saving

SaveAs(String)

Save the archive to the specified path

Declaration

public abstract void SaveAs(string Path)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
System.String	Path	Save path

Remarks

Users cannot add additional entries after saving

Implements

System.IDisposable