Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!yale!mintaka!bloom-beacon!eru!luth!d88-mbe
From: d88-mbe@sm.luth.se (Michael Bergman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Compressed archive format
Keywords: chinese menu
Message-ID: <1051@tau.sm.luth.se>
Date: 27 Aug 90 18:08:18 GMT
References: <1990Aug25.180851.4401@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG>
Organization: University of Lulea, Sweden
Lines: 96

xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) writes:

>We're going through it again, but this time it's worse.

>The .zoo format is being replaced by _two_ formats, .lhw and .lzh,
>(and also by whatever PKAZIP writes, I suppose), but the archive
>executables are not widely distributed, and host computer versions
>(at least here) won't even compile and are several changes behind
>the Amiga versions.

Well, .lhw and .lzh aren't comparable. Lhwarp is only used to compress
whole Amiga disks and is only available under AmigaDOS. Lharc
is available for mainframe (UNIX) machines - latest version 1.00 is
100% compatible with all other versions (including Amiga Lharc) The
source can be downloaded from a usenet archive: comp.sources.misc.
Compiles "as is" under SunOS and BSD 4.3.

>Could some kind soul 1) do a good set of benchmarks to see which is
>the most time/space efficient of the new archivers, and publish it
>here; 2) find and distribute the widely ported source code for the
>host executable; 3) find and distribute the source code and executables
>for the Amiga versions; and, most important, 4) pick _one_ new
>archiver/format we can all agree upon?

Benchmarks have been done. I have them on paper, but not in electronic format
I'm afraid so I can't repost them. Because lharc is so slow, the guy who
did this concluded that Zip is the overall most effective algorithm (I *think*)

However, Lharc generally packs better and you can always run it in the
background (as Amiga owners we're all familiar with that, right? :-)
If there really is a demand for these "benchmarks" I can type them in and
post them. Mail me if you want to see them. Or better still, the guy who
did them in the 1st place might read this and repost them :-)

To my knowledge there is no complete zip tool that runs under UNIX or VMS.
There is a BSD unzip though, I think I have the source to that on tape.

For those of you who want to convert .zoo to .lzh, I include a script written
by me (copy this as you wish and spread it!)

Michael


----cut here----cut here----cut here----cut here----cut here----
#! /bin/sh
#
# Reconstructs zoo archive(s) to lharc archive(s)
# using /tmp/ for temporary storage.
# The .zoo extension should not be given explicitly.
# Before use, check that the zoo archive(s) aren't damaged: zoo Lm *
#
# M. Bergman  1990-03-28
#
if [ $# -lt 1 ]
then
   echo "Usage: zoo2lzh <zoo archive file {zoo archive file}...>"
   echo "	You must have rw permission both to the zoo archive(s)"
   echo "	*and* the catalog(s) they are in."
   echo "	The .lzh file(s) will have the default permissons."
   echo ""
   exit 1
fi
for ARG do
   if [ -w $ARG.zoo -a -r $ARG.zoo ]
   then
      WD=`pwd`
      ARCHFILE=$ARG
      if [ `echo $ARG | awk '{print substr($1,0,1)}'` != / ]
      then
         ARCHFILE=$WD/$ARG
      fi
      TMPDIR=/tmp/.z2l#$$
      mkdir $TMPDIR
      chmod og-rwx $TMPDIR
      cd $TMPDIR
      echo ""
      echo "Reconstructing $ARCHFILE.zoo"
      zoo e// $ARCHFILE.zoo
      \rm $ARCHFILE.zoo
      FILES=`ls -A`
      echo $FILES
      lharc a $ARCHFILE.lzh $FILES
      cd $WD
      \rm -R $TMPDIR
   else
      echo ""; echo "zoo2lzh: $ARG.zoo nonexistent or limited permission"
   fi
done
echo ""


-- 
      Michael Bergman         Internet: d88-mbe@sm.luth.se
  //  Undergrad. Comp. Eng.   BITNET:   d88-mbe%sm.luth.se@kth.se
\X/   U of Lulea, SWEDEN      ARPA:     d88-mbe%sm.luth.se@ucbvax.berkeley.edu
			      UUCP:  {uunet,mcvax}!sunic.se!sm.luth.se!d88-mbe