Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!udel!haven.umd.edu!mimsy!tove.cs.umd.edu!folta From: folta@tove.cs.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: StuffIt Deluxe is too slow! Message-ID: <34437@mimsy.umd.edu> Date: 14 May 91 17:24:58 GMT References: <1991May14.125138.8162@mmm.serc.3m.com> Sender: news@mimsy.umd.edu Reply-To: folta@tove.cs.umd.edu (Wayne Folta) Distribution: na Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742 Lines: 24 >Second, are you stuffing with "Best" mode? If so, TURN IT OFF! Use >"Best Guess" only. The "Best" mode will try EACH of the compression >algorithms and keep only the file which is smallest. As you might >guess, it can take a HUGE amount of time to try all four options. I'd >guess that is what you are seeing. > Note that I saw this problem too (a 2.7 megabyte 4th Dimension >database made StuffIt 2.01 appear to _hang_ my machine for nearly as >long), and Aladdin let me know about the "Best" mode situation. Didn't >spot _that_ useful tip in the docs. I really like StuffIt Deluxe--it seems to be a very elegant program. *Except* for the slowness of its compression. I believe that there is a bug in the compression, since certain files cause it to act radically different. Example: I compressed two Nisus files, two TIFFs, two APPLs and a QXP file. The smaller TIFF (about 50Kb) took as long to compress as the other 700Kb of files combined! This was using Best Guess (twice as fast as Better, same compression). I've got to believe that certain binary combinations cause its compression code trees (if it is using such things) to be changed repeatedly, or something like that... -- Wayne Folta (folta@cs.umd.edu 128.8.128.8)