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From: johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Compact Pro 1.30 vs. StuffIt Deluxe 2.0.1 (performance)
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Date: 9 Feb 91 20:43:26 GMT
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In article <11867@pt.cs.cmu.edu>, hairston@henry.ECE.CMU.EDU 
(David Hairston) writes...

>>[johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu writes:]
>>[... Compact Pro is faster and more efficient than StuffIt Deluxe ...]

>I read your article with much interest.  There are areas you didn't
>mention i.e. application size, installation and so on.  Also, I was
>curious, you didn't reach a "Conclusion".  Are the facts, in this case,
>supposed to speak for themselves?  Certainly this is no simple matter
>so there can be no real simple conclusion ...

Agreed.  Speed is just one (very important) factor that contributes             
to the "usefulness" of a program.

I certainly have no plans to switch to Compact Pro at present.                  
StuffIt Deluxe is highly integrated into my work-style -- I make
extensive use of scripted batch operations and hooks to HyperCard
and White Knight.  I particularly like the translator modules 
for UU**code, tar, MacBinary, BinHex, unZip, deArc, DDexpand, etc.

It's important to make a distinction between programs that waste 
computer time and ones that waste MY time.  Most Mac programs are 
slower than their "nuts-and-bolts-equivalent" DOS or unix counterparts.  
StuffIt's scripts, automation, and accessibility "everywhere" 
save MY time.  The actual archive/dearchive speed is less important
(particularly for background jobs) than all the pointing and clicking
I am forced to do in order to do archiving tasks by hand.

Furthermore, I think it's important to look a bit beyond what
is appropriate for the computer-literate user that generally
frequents usenet mac groups.  StuffIt lets the moderately 
sophisticated user create scripts or "front-ends" that could 
enable an entire office to incorporate file compression into 
the daily computing routine.  This used to be an "MIS-only" task. 
The hooks for QuickMail and QuickKeys are great as well.

By the way, it would be wrong to conclude that StuffIt Deluxe
is slow BECAUSE it offers extra features like scripting and 
virus checking (one of the things I showed is that virus checking 
_doesn't_ slow things significantly).  

StuffIt Deluxe 2.0.1 _is_ noticeably faster than 1.0, and Compact Pro 
has a new (albeit somewhat flawed) BinHex option.  One reason 
for posting comparisons is to push developers to make improvements.
I imagine both Ray Lau and Bill Goodman have been busy lately!

I'll try posting a more balanced article covering "features"
some time in the next few weeks.

-- Bill (johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu)
-- 38 Chambers St.; Newark, DE 19711; (302)368-1949