Re: dsk images

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

dklugh writes ...
> 
> ....
> 
> Are they packed or gziped?  Make up your mind!

     If they are gzipped, they are packed. "Packed" is a general term, like 
"compressed" to describe files which have, in some way-- shrinked, zipped, 
deflated, etc.-- been squished, usually, in such a way that no data is lost. 

> WinZIP needs Windows.A better alternative is gzip itself from your friendly
> neighbourhood GNU site.There are 8088 and 80386 versions.
> Gzip will handle packed and compressed files as well.
>

     This may be a great way to go for some users. WinZip is easy to use, very 
flexible as to types of files it can unpack, and very fast.

  
>
> Actually,neither pack nor gzip have the capability of storing more than one
> file.

     Thanks for the correction. A few files with a .gz suffix which were 
actually .zip files may have ended up in a site's Incoming folder.

     One additional correction/clarification: Asimov is very good about tagging 
its compressed DSK images as name.dsk.gz and its non-compressed DSK images as 
name.dsk. The statement about downloaded compressed DSK files being incorrectly 
labeled as name.dsk applies to situations where the original name is truncated 
to fit PC's format. (For example ultima_1.-enhanced.dsk.gz ends up as 
ultima_1.dsk in a PC download folder.)

 
> ....
> The point of gzip/packed is that it replaces the original file with the gziped
> version.So when you unpack/gunzip the file,the gziped version gets replaced
> with the real version.WinZIP is obviously not meant to handle anything but a
> ziped file.

     As already noted, the problem with overwriting is a result of PC file 
name truncation. It is avoided by unpacking to a different directory. WinZip has 
no trouble at all with .gz files. Certainly, it is much easier to unpack a bunch 
of .gz files using WinZip than it is using a program requiring the user to type 
in a file name.


Rubywand