Path: utzoo!utgpu!bnr-vpa!bnr-fos!bnr-public!schow
From: schow@bnr-public.uucp (Stanley Chow)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: comp.binaries.amiga shar files are ANNOYING !
Summary: Yes. The old format was better.
Message-ID: <448@bnr-fos.UUCP>
Date: 30 Apr 89 05:10:05 GMT
References: <4715@mva.cs.liv.ac.uk> <12554@ut-emx.UUCP>
Sender: news@bnr-fos.UUCP
Reply-To: schow@bnr-public.UUCP (Stanley Chow)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 45

In article <12554@ut-emx.UUCP> mjl@emx.UUCP (Maurice LeBrun) writes:
>In article <4715@mva.cs.liv.ac.uk> rkl@mva.cs.liv.ac.uk (Richard K. Lloyd) writes:
>>I just want to raise a small objection to the format of the postings to
>>comp.binaries.amiga. Not everyone uses UNIX to unpack/download binaries
>>(I'm sure that VMS is a very popular alternative) and hence not everyone
>>has access to shar.
>
>All the tools necessary for unpacking comp.(sources|binaries).amiga
>distributions -- shar, uudecode, and zoo -- will run quite comfortably
>under VMS.  I got each of these to compile under Vax C with no
>problems.  For utilities which need redirection (like uuencode), it is
>sometimes helpful to write a .COM file front end that redefines
>SYS$INPUT and SYS$OUTPUT as necessary.  The shar I use on the vax is
>the one written by by Dave Wecker.  If you need a copy of shar.c or
>uu/en/de/code.c, drop me a note and I'll send them out (they're
>small).
>
>Maurice LeBrun		      |   "So then I says to Borg, `You know,
>Institute for Fusion Studies  |  as long as we're under siege, one of us
>University of Texas at Austin |    oughta moon these Saxon dogs.'"
>Internet: mjl@128.83.131.1    |
> (mjl@fusion.ph.utexas.edu)   |                   (Far Side)

I have a version of uudecode that can take a posting - complete with
headers, descriptions and all, and find the actual uuencoded portion
to decode. The old format (without the leading 'X') could be uudecoded
directly. The new format forces me to  go through sh.

BTW, even if tools are available (or can be ported), it is still
nicer to not have to use them. Also, all those extra 'X' doesn't really
do much except for wasting bandwidth and occasionally making a multi-part
posting necessary.
 
 ----

 As long as we are talking about format of the postings, does anyone
 have a program of a script that can go straight from rn to a single
 recombined file?


 Stanley Chow    ..!utgpu!bnr-vpa!bnr-fos!schow%bnr-public
		   schow@BNR.CA.BITNET

Disclaimer: No one pays me to play with Amiga, so all opinions on 
	    this topic are strictly my own.