Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!mcsun!inesc!unl!unl!jpc From: jpc@fct.unl.pt (Jose Pina Coelho) Newsgroups: comp.compression Subject: Re: IP gnitaluclaC rof margorP (Was Re: Program for Calculating PI) Message-ID: Date: 9 Apr 91 14:19:53 GMT References: <28916@dime.cs.umass.edu> <24380001@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> Sender: news@fct.unl.pt (USENET News System) Organization: Universidade Nova de Lisboa -- Lisbon, Portugal Lines: 36 In-Reply-To: ahill@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com's message of 8 Apr 91 18:26:50 GMT In article <24380001@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> ahill@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Andy Hill) writes: > > BTW, I _do_ think this whole PI / e thread of discussion is interesting, but > would some clever person try and relate it to data compression? :) > Certainly. I would like to compute PI to one billion decimal places on my Apple IIe, and then store it on a single floppy, so that I can sneakernet it to my friend's Cray MP to compare results. In order to do so, I need to have really excellent data compression. Won't work, PI is uncompressible, one billion digits won't fit in a diskette. On the other hand, if you run the program on the cray you'll have PI in the cray in a lot less time (after all, diskettes are slow). Do I win a prize???? No, you forgot that important detail. BTW, since this IS comp.compression, have any of you come up with a reasonable approach to time compression? I'd sort of like to be alive when the computation finishes... Easy: 03:41 jpc$ compress -v time time: Compression: 92.71% -- replaced with time.Z -- Jose Pedro T. Pina Coelho | BITNET/Internet: jpc@fct.unl.pt Rua Jau N 1, 2 Dto | UUCP: ...!mcsun!unl!jpc 1300 Lisboa, PORTUGAL | Home phone: (+351) (1) 640767 - If all men were brothers, would you let one marry your sister ?