Re: Uploading to Asimov

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Simon wrote:
> 
> Hi !
> 
> So, after having transfered about 15 Apple II disks to PC, and indexed
> more or less their content in TXT files, I wonder what is the best way
> to upload them to Asimov FTP.
> Everything in a big mess?
> All zipped?
> Individually zipped (disk by disk)?
> 
> If the people taking care of the FTP can tell me what's the best for them...
> 
 ....

     Not sure what Modus currently prefers. Asimov started out maintaining
disks as .dsk disk images in .gz compressed form. Many file names on the
archive end with ".dsk.gz".

     There are a couple problems with that format. First, the double use of
"." violates standard PC filename rules. Lots of users will download the file
and have part of the suffix snipped. Second, .zip is the compression
standard; and, there is a nice unzipping utility available for the IIgs.

     Asimov now maintains many disk images in .zip files. Sometimes an
individual .dsk image is zipped; sometimes a set of disk images for a game,
etc. will be in a single .zip file. 

     For instance, all of the disk images for Ultima IV might be included in
ULtima4.zip and uploaded along with a Text file named "Ultima4_info.txt"
which tells what is included in Ultima4.zip. If each disk is zipped
separately, the first file in the set might be named "Ultima4_boot.zip",
etc..

     For several games on a disk, the usual practice on Asimov is to
eventually place the disk in the ... /images/games/file_based folder as a
.dsk.gz or .zip file with a name listing the games on the disk. Some
filenames are fairly long. For example, a file might be named ...

artillery_ballistics_divebomber_flocklandislandcrisis_laserwars_lazerblaster_moonlanding_skybombers_tankcommand_tombstonecity.zip

     Naturally, Asimov would prefer that whatever is on a single disk fit in
the same category. Like, you wouldn't want to mix disk utilities and games.

     Some uploads may not be regular .dsk disk images. If you upload zipped
.shk files, the filename should indicate indicate what's in the .zip-- such
as MockingboardSongs1_shk.zip.


Rubywand