Support reading large files without decompressing it entirely in memory

[nehalem501]

I've tried using backhand to implement reading parts of big disk images contained inside SquashFS file systems.

Unfortunately, I've noticed that when I try to read the contents of the file, it will try to uncompress the whole file in memory instead of just the parts I'm trying to read (The file here being a large 120GB HDD image). What I'm trying to achieve is something similar to mounting a SquashFS on a Linux system, where I can read files inside the FS without worrying about their size.

Would it be possible to implement such a feature?

[lethargy123]

I think an API that returns the reader can be created.

[wcampbell0x2a]

Ah. So a reader that would seek to the right portion and only give you the uncompressed chunk you need?

[nehalem501]

Ah. So a reader that would seek to the right portion and only give you the uncompressed chunk you need?

Yes, exactly. That way I could read just the portions of the file I need.