Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!netcomsv!mrs
From: mrs@netcom.COM (Morgan Schweers)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: PKLITE, what's the catch???
Message-ID: <1991Jun30.042928.2030@netcom.COM>
Date: 30 Jun 91 04:29:28 GMT
References: <1991Jun29.052850.2121@netcom.COM> <1991Jun29.150110.19766@midway.uchicago.edu> <33983@usc.edu>
Organization: McAfee Associates
Lines: 59

Some time ago chanel@mensa.usc.edu (chanel summers) happily mumbled: 
>In article <1991Jun29.150110.19766@midway.uchicago.edu> valley@gsbsun.uchicago.edu (Doug Dougherty) writes:
>>To me, that doesn't sound like much of a selling point; you should
>>maintain originals of any program you compress anyway, just as you
>>should maintain sources of any program you compile.
>
>I disagree.  The purpose of compressing executables is to save space.  Saving
>the executable in compressed format and original format seems redundant.  Sure,
>you can back it up on a floppy, but that's like saying that everyone should
>keep a copy of their ZIP files *and* the contents of the ZIP files uncompressed
>which is obviously silly.
>
Greetings,
    Actually it's not that silly.  You keep the original disks that your
programs came on, don't you?  It's basically the same.  I keep a set of
HD 3.5" disks which contain the originals of my executables.  (named *.OLD,
of course.)

    I agree, mostly, with Doug.  It's really not much of a selling point.
UNLZEXE was *NOT* (as far as I could tell) written by the same person who
wrote LZEXE.  Furthermore, it's not always right about the uncompression.

    However, there is rarely a reason to uncompress your executables.  (Unless
you're using a virus scanner which doesn't support whichever format you're
using.)  However, this brings up a *MAJOR* reason to at least keep backups.

    If, for some reason, your copies of the .EXE files get damaged (FAT
problems, a wild program, a virus, whatever) you're stuck.  Obviously if
you have backups you're fine.  (*PLUG PLUG*!  MAKE BACKUPS OFTEN!)  If
you don't, then at least maybe you'll have backups of your executables,
and you'll be able to use them.

    This too may sound silly, I suppose.  However, I *DO* keep .ZIP copies
of all the software I pick up backed up on floppies.  (Yes, a *LOT* of
floppies.)  However, it's only the software I decide to use.  This saves me
a lot of time in doing backups.  (Especially since I devoted a drive to my
utility software.  I no longer have to back that drive up.)  It doesn't help
with apps, though, since the *MOST* important thing to do is to keep the data
safe.  That I do also (along with my code) every night.  Do I delete the files
after I've zipped them?  Of course not!  I need them to do work the next day.

    Anyhow, it's all a matter of taste.  Each program (PKLITE, LZEXE, Diet,
etc.) has it's own features which make it a good program.  However, the
features are usually not related to the compression, but to policy, or
features, or what-have-you.

    No, it's not really free.  LZEXE is free, but UNLZEXE isn't perfect.
PKLITE costs, but PKLITE -x *DOES* work almost perfectly.  I think, however,
that whatever program you choose you've got to thank Fabrice Bellard for
making the concept popular.  A stroke of genius, frankly.

>Chanel

                                                   --  Morgan Schweers
-- 
mrs@netcom.com   |   Morgan Schweers   |  Good code, good food, good sex.  Is
ms@gnu.ai.mit.edu|   These messages    |  anything else important?  --  Freela
Kilroy Balore    |   are not the       +--------------------------------------
Freela           |   opinion of anyone.|  I *AM* an AI.  I'm not real...