Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.comm:3197 comp.sys.mac.programmer:23374
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!sics.se!sics.se!boortz
From: boortz@sics.se (Kent Boortz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Mac packing program. Could Mac handle it?
Message-ID: <1991Apr6.115308.27161@sics.se>
Date: 6 Apr 91 11:53:08 GMT
Article-I.D.: sics.1991Apr6.115308.27161
References: <1991Apr1.221555.1836@ucselx.sdsu.edu>
	<1991Apr3.191534.21833@jhereg.osa.com> <231b3679.670804293@fergvax>
Sender: news@sics.se
Organization: Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Kista
Lines: 34
In-Reply-To: 231b3679@fergvax.unl.edu's message of 4 Apr 91 22: 31:33 GMT


Yes, self extracting archives is not the same as compressed executable
files. I have tried lzexe on MSDOS. I run lzexe on a file foo.exe to
compress it and add unpacking code to it.

The new application, foo.exe, will to the user work like the old one, with
a very small delay at startup. Programs that patch this code will not work
of cause (many msdos programs do like this because there is nothing like
resources in an msdos executable file).

This is close to the self extracting archives that is created by Compactor
but with some differences:

	- Lzexe compresses only one executable file
	- The file is executed after unpacking
	- The compacted file will not look the same, another Icon, info etc.

The main reason this is not done by any of the mac compression program authors
I think is that all decompression programs that I know of are slow (or is it
msdos programs that are small, I don't know). The delay starting a compressed
version of PageMaker or Word will not be acceptable. Am I wrong?

Is not packed resources part of sys 7? Then the problem is solved is it not?
If Apple gives us an small application that change the resource attributes
and compresses/decompresses resources in an application then the resource 
manager do the rest for us under runtime.

I will be a little strange discussing how fast an application run after that.
"My application XX is not that slow, what resources did you pack?" ;-)


--
Kent Boortz
boortz@sics.se