Re: Shrinkit Question

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Supertimer <supertimer@aol.com> wrote:

> Actually, I do add comments to my file with Finder on the GS, so all
> my archives have rComment with or without help from MacOS, but
> really...how much space does an empty rComment resource take?
> A few bytes?  Hardly can notice it (usually does not make a difference
> at all because files normally are not sized to fit exactly in an integer
> number of blocks so the empty rComment does not go into the next
> block).

If the file had no resource fork (as is likely with a SHK archive), then
adding an rComment will also require making the file extended (adding
one block) and adding a resource fork.  This will require at least one
further block (assuming the entire resource fork is less than 512
bytes).

You therefore require at least two extra blocks for an empty comment.
(If the resource fork was already present, your statement is probably
correct.)

Incidentally, the Mac cannot possibly add rComment resources to a IIgs
file: the Mac and IIgs have completely different resource fork
organisations, and neither toolbox is able to read the others' resource
fork (an application would have to do it manually).

There is no problem treating the whole thing as raw data (as when
copying a file, for example).

On the Mac, comments aren't even attached to the file.  They are stored
in the Desktop File/Database, and Finder provides the logical connection
that the user sees.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand