Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!van-bc!
From: lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: PKZip Amiga arrives
Message-ID: <1046@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca>
Date: 15 Jan 90 11:18:24 GMT
Lines: 42
Return-Path: <lpami!lphillips>
To: van-bc!rnews

In <2374@cpsc6a.att.com>, crs@cpsc6a.att.com (Chris (I'm a programmer, not a Doctor!!) Seaman) writes:
>Could you provide an example of how you use Zoo with no manual intervention?
>Frankly, in all the time I've been using the Amiga, I've never found a need
>to do so.  I don't spend that much of my time archiving/unarchiving files.

Certainly. I use an ARexx script called 'extract'. It recognizes files of the
form foo.(lzh|zoo|arc), creates a directory with the same name as the first
part of the filename, moves the file into the newly created directory, and
applies the appropriate command line to extract the files.

I _do_ spend 'that much time archiving files.  As a sysop on Compuserve's Amiga
forums, I do a large volume of downloading, unarchiving, and checking files
uploaded by members. The ARexx script saves me a LOT of time and typing (and in
the case of PKAZip, a lot of mousing).

>Besides, it seems that, in order to use an archiver that requires 'no' manual
>intervention, one would still need to 'intervene' to build the script:
>At least the use of a text editor, and some form of command line
>syntax, which might include determining the working directory and/or tree
>structure to be archived.

Not at all.  With an already written, single Arexx program, I can read in the
contents of a directory, parse the names I find, (and even change the actual
name on certain files where I have made a common mistake of naming it with
.lhz instead of .lzh), create the directories, move the files, and extract
them.  All this with only one command line to type.

>Interesting.  I have just begun converting my Zoo'ed files to PKAZip, since
>I find it more useful.  To each his own, I guess.

I find it admirable that the program supports the novice and mouse/icon
oriented users, but I do think it misses the mark in this one important way.

-larry

--
"Cavett Emptor - Let the talk show host beware!" - Evan Marcus
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|   //   Larry Phillips                                                 |
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