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From: hartung@amos.ling.ucsd.edu (Jeff Hartung)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: SEZ: a suggestion for the next version...
Summary: It's worth the few extra hundred kbytes
Keywords: Self-extracting ZOO archives
Message-ID: <5452@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU>
Date: 29 Oct 88 00:35:14 GMT
References: <5450@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> <4529@bsu-cs.UUCP> <23402@amdcad.AMD.COM>
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Reply-To: hartung@amos.ling.ucsd.edu (Jeff Hartung)
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Organization: Univ. of Calif., San Diego
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In article <23402@amdcad.AMD.COM> phil@diablo.AMD.COM (Phil Ngai) writes:
>
>I don't see any point in being able to extract an archive into a machine
>with so little space that it can't hold the archive itself. Particularly
>if the cost is that sez overhead is increased. I vote no.
>"In the West, to waste water is not to consume it, to let it flow unimpeded 
>and undiverted down rivers. Use of water is, by definition, beneficial use."
>(from _Cadillac Desert_)
>Phil Ngai, {ucbvax,decwrl,allegra}!amdcad!phil or phil@amd.com

You are missing the point.  Lets say you have a 600 kbyte file that has been
archived using ZOO, then made self extracting with SEZ, and moved onto a
floppy.  The self-extracting archive is about 300 kbytes.  Later, you want to
move the files back.  You have 800 kbytes of space left on your hard disk, so
there are 200 to spare even after the files you want are moved back.  However,
to extract the files, you must first move the 300 kbyte archive over, execute
it so that it will self extract, and then remove it again.  Once it's moved
over, there are only 500 kbytes left, no longer enough space for all the
files.  There's no way to extract everything you want and then get rid of part
of the SEZ file to make more room because it can only extract all or none of
the files, but not some.

Furthermore, the manual task of moving the archive over and erasing it later
is an unnecessary chore.  
 --Jeff Hartung--  	
 Disclaimer: "Nobody here really cares what I think anyhow."
 ARPA - hartung@amos.ling.ucsd.edu          
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