Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pons.cis.ohio-state.edu!tj From: tj@pons.cis.ohio-state.edu (Todd R Johnson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps Subject: Re: Compactor - A reason not to use Message-ID: <87247@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Date: 14 Jan 91 00:51:15 GMT References: <5490@crystal9.uucp> <252200004@peg> <1991Jan13.142958.11554@sics.se> Sender: news@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu Reply-To: Todd R Johnson Organization: Ohio State University Computer and Information Science Lines: 50 In article <1991Jan13.142958.11554@sics.se> ollef@sics.se (Olle Furberg) writes: >> >>In <252200004@peg> mididoc@peg.UUCP writes: >> >>>I thought the main aim behind archiver programs were to reduce (a) >>>storage and (b) net-traffic. Anthing wchich does it better is good. >> >> You haven't understood the width of the problem yet! >>There are a lot of people who does the unpacking on non-Mac computers. >>There are PC-users who uses Mac sound files and don't have access to >>any Mac, there are also a lot of people (like me) who has special >>programs on UNIX for unpacking and filing into AUFS-archives. All this >>works great because the algorithm for StuffIt 1.5.1 is known. >> >> If the author of Compactor wrote (free) unCompactors for UNIX and >>PC-users, I would accept Compactor as a new net.standard. I wouldn't. I want a version for my Amiga as well. When a new machine comes out I want a version for it as well. >> >> It's really short-sighted to think that everybody uses archiver >>programs in the same way as you. This remark has been made by several >>people but you (and some other guys) doesn't seem to take note of it. This is exactly the reason why Stuffit and Compactor are both unacceptable. I want to be able to create and extract archives on my Unix account, my Mac, and my Amiga. When I first got my Mac I was amazed that the most common compression program did not (and still does not) have a unix version. To upload information I have to use stuffit. To download information I have to use Zoo. I would personally be happy with a complete mac implementation of Zoo or lharc, even though these may produce archives a few percent larger than Compactor or Stuffit. I also have zoo on my Amiga. Communication with Unix boxes is much easier on the Amiga because of the common compression and text formats. Archival programs must be completely open so that they are available for as many machines as possible. There should also be at least one free no-frills version for each machine. Hopefully, the designers of Stuffit and Compactor will grow up and release their formats. Until then, I'd urge people not to support them. ---Todd -- Todd R. Johnson tj@cis.ohio-state.edu Laboratory for AI Research The Ohio State University