Re: .sit decoding?

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <5f2b8g$ej2$1@news.sas.ab.ca>,
 <tturner@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> wrote:
>Adalbert Goertz (be404@yfn.ysu.edu) wrote:
>: How can I decompress .sea files on my GS? No way?

>--> I'm not that familiar with GS file-types (being a IIe-person);
>    but I seem to recall something that said .sea stood for:
>    (s)elf-(e)xtracting (a)rchive. If so, shouldn't one be able to
>    just 'run' it?

   Problem: there are Mac .SEAs, and GS .SEAs, and what's an
executable on one side is random noise on noise on the other.  In
short, if you want to trade files with a Mac (or any other system)
person, agree on a mutual common denominator that both sides can deal
with. For a heck of a lot of compression formats, there's publically
available source code that has or can be ported to the system of your
choice, should you need to get at the files. For the few that aren't,
they're the odd ones out and should rectify that.

   Once again, unportable system-proprietary formats are getting in
the way of communication. If you care about being able to read
something, either (1) get the documentation and write your own reader,
or (2) bitch at the company and users promoting the abomination until
they get something more portable.

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
# What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the _facts_?
# Shun wishful thinking, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors
# think-- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?  -R.A. Heinlein