Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!van-bc!mdivax1!jackb
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: BinHex 5 history (Was: Re: New StuffIt translator modules)
Message-ID: <1991Jan23.010954.1950@mdivax1.uucp>
Date: 23 Jan 91 01:09:54 GMT
References: <42005@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <1991Jan21.045022.9593@silvlis.com> <1991Jan22.165727.2454@silvlis.com>
Reply-To: mdivax1!bb12c!jackb (Jack Brindle)
Organization: Mobile Data International
Lines: 35
Return-Path: <mdivax1!news>
Apparently-To: van-bc!rnews

In article <1991Jan22.165727.2454@silvlis.com> jimb@silvlis.com (Jim Budler) writes:
>
>Second, I'm told the new Finder flags have nothing to do with Multifinder.
>
   I believe this is correct. There was quite a bit of additional info
   that we were ignoring in the additional bits, such as where the icon was
   (desktop or folder), and a few other things. This info was added when
   HFS was released, way before MultiFinder. By the way, there was much
   discussion about where the additional byte of flags should be placed. The
   most logical was adjacent to the old flags. Unfortunately, this byte was
   also used as a MacBinary indicator. Thus, it was moved up to an unused
   area so we could maintain backwards compatibility.
>
>Third, I'm told there was considerable more new capability than
>the Finder flags, including future expansion capabilities and header
>CRC, but I will stand by my use of the word "mainly" above. An
>expansion capability that is little used to date is hardly a main
>feature, even if it is desirable.

   The CRC feature was a "biggie." A major problem with MacBinary I decoders
   was a tendency to "false" on some non-MacBinary files. 1-2-3 files were
   some of the worst. That protocol relied on three bytes being null. Thus,
   almost any file that had those three bytes null would be recognized as
   MacBinary. The newer version added detection information (look at the top
   of the header) that is now used to indicate MacBinary files. The CRC simply
   adds a degree of protection to make sure that this really is MacBinary.
>
>That last one is my opinion. My correspondent works at a software
>company, and they may plan to use one of these expansion features.
>Therefore to them the existence of the feature is a main portion
>of the standard. 8^)

   Glad to see someone thinks we knew what we were doing :-).

- Jack Brindle