From: alawrenc@sobeco.com (a.lawrence) Subject: Re: Use of zip instead of compress Date: Sun, 18 Oct 1992 00:56:27 GMT
In <KREJ.92Oct17181624@gaia.electrum.kth.se> krej@electrum.kth.se (Kristian Ejvind) writes:
>In article <SUOPANKI.92Oct15215459@zombie.oulu.fi> suopanki@zombie.oulu.fi (Heikki Suopanki) writes:
> I can't see any good reason why we shouldn't use a new and better
> compressor for Linux. We have to choose one and make it a Linux standard.
> If it's a part of standard distribution there will be no problems.
> Well, I can see several good reasons why we shouldn't use something else
>than compress. The most important one is: Linux should be as much of a
>unix as it can be, that definitely includes using compress (in combination
>with tar) for compressing files. *.tar.Z is the method used *everywhere*
>else in the unix-world and it should be used in linux too. It is ok to
>change when the rest of the world change too, but changing in linux
>won't change the world (we're not that big, believe me (at least not yet :-)).
> Of course it's possible for everyone using linux to choose his/her own
>method to compress files, but all the distributions should be with tar.Z.
> /Kristian Ejvind
>BTW. `new and better` evaluates to quite different results depending
>on the person evaluating it. Personally I like compress, due to it's
>speed compared to other programs.
FLAME ON: This is same kind of thinking that gives us computer systems
that can't handle 8-bit data, can not dial-out and accept calls on the same
I/O port, a language that lets the programmer write the same statement 25
different ways because there are 25 different compilers, etc, etc, etc.
FLAME OFF:
We have an excellent system here, but lets not be afraid to make it a
little better because that means doing things a little differently from
the way they were done before. I have not seen anyone suggest that
tar or compress should be either abandonned or drop from the Linux
system. What has been suggested it that perhaps there is a better way
to handle the distribution of our files.
Personnally, I hope that something is done soon. I don't have FTP
access to the net so everything has to go via mail to my net host,
and then I download at 2400 baud. Every step that reduces the
volume of data is important. (Yes, I do convert every .Z to .zip
before transfering at 2400).
-- If any given program runs correctly, it is obsolete. ========================================================================= Andrew Lawrence, Informaticien Conseil | alawrenc@sobeco.com 3605 St-Urbain, #1605 | uunet!sobeco!alawrenc