Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252) (09/12/89)
In keeping with the spirit of pushing the ST and its programs to
the limit or past the envelope as David Small says, evaluations of Packer 2.0
and Squish make for interesting comparisons. Many netters have mailed me
their results and made equally negative and positive comments. One user
even graciously sent a version of Packer that includes the file selector
box (which answered my objection to the interface).
Conclusions (at least for now):
Packer 2.0
1) Output file names -- must be different than original or an abort
occurs.
2) Error conditions -- will still allow SOMETHING to be written. This
creates time-consuming file maintenance for user as he deletes
these unusable files. These files are created during the
abort condition. Nasty...
3) Consistancy -- Not very consistant. Will not allow the latest
DCOPY shell and program to work together properly.
4) When Packer DOES work, it is marvelous....
5) Conclusion: a program for hackers only. Use it to push the envelope.
It will not cause crashes on the programs that it successfully
works with and will save significant space.
DCSquish
1) Output file names -- DCSquish automatically renames the original
program name with a .xyz extender, allowing original name to be
automatically installed on the squished file. Note that the
user has a choice during the process, if he so wishes to change
anything. In other words, he is not strapped to the process.
2) Error conditions -- hmmmm, nothing yet.
3) Consistancy -- Exceedingly consistant and predictable.
4) Conclusion: though DCSquish does not shrink files quite as
much as Packer, it does its job consistantly and predictably.
Overall conclusion for both products:
Both Packer and DCSquish are excellent programs, one is designed
for the hacker-type who thinks nothing of spending hours to milk out an
extra K of remaining space. The other program is more for the user who
needs something a bit more predictable, a bit more friendly, and a program
that will net in not only space savings but time savings in the installation.
Packer requires a considerable amount of work during use due to
not all programs working with it. If a user has several programs on a hard
drive, this could be a laborious affair.
DCSquish is directly the opposite. The user becomes like Opus
who can't resist the turnip twaddler. He goes on a searching binge for
more programs to Squish. Squish's process is that simple, that rewarding.
Finally, just for reference's sake, not all Packed files result
in significant space savings. Turbo ST results in the following, at least
on my ST, during this moon phase with George Bush as President:
Squished Crunched Packed Original
26858 33531 41241 52587
As a user, the STer really does have a choice. Use whatever
program works for you. As for me and my house, DCSquish is the one. Now,
if only I could find some more files to Squish!
Larry Rymal: |East Texas Atari 68NNNers| <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>uace0@uhnix2.uh.edu (Michael B. Vederman) (09/13/89)
Thanks for the kind words Larry! DC Squish has been improved even further! Including a better SQUISH! But, I can't believe you forgot to mention that DC SQUISH also makes programs load faster for TOS 1.0 and TOS 1.2 (and if the FAST option is set for TOS 1.4 also). This reduction in load to execution time is not just by making the files smaller, either. DC SQUISH actually has the same effect (and thus eliminates the need for) as the popular program PINHEAD! But on a file by file basis. Crunch or Pack don't offer this, just reduced file size. BTW - with the newest version of DC SQUISH (which Larry will be receiving free-of-charge) approaches the compaction of Pack (and beats it some times) while still being significantly faster! - mike -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Double Click Me | Double Click Software | P.O. Box 741206 | Houston, Tx, 77274 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Support BBS: (713)944-0108 | SHADOW | DC FORMATTER | DC UTILITIES | and others
klute%trillian.irb@unido.uucp (Rainer Klute) (09/13/89)
In article <861@uhnix2.uh.edu> uace0@uhnix2.UUCP writes: >... DC SQUISH actually has the same effect (and thus >eliminates the need for) as the popular program PINHEAD! I have never heard of PINHEAD. Which effect does it have? Rainer Klute ---- klute@trillian.irb.informatik.uni-dortmund.de Univ. Dortmund, IRB |)|/ klute@unido.uucp, klute@unido.bitnet Postfach 500500 |\|\ ...uunet!mcvax!unido!klute D-4600 Dortmund 50 ---- Tel.: +49 231 7554663
steve@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Steve Yelvington) (09/14/89)
klute%trillian.irb@unido.uucp (Rainer Klute) writes: >In article <861@uhnix2.uh.edu> uace0@uhnix2.UUCP writes: >>... DC SQUISH actually has the same effect (and thus >>eliminates the need for) as the popular program PINHEAD! > >I have never heard of PINHEAD. Which effect does it have? > > Rainer Klute ---- klute@trillian.irb.informatik.uni-dortmund.de PINHEAD is C.F. Johnson's (shareware) null-fill program. It's based on Leo's NULLFILL (Leo is credited in the documentation). Johnson, who is best known for GPlus+ and ARCSHELL, has added some user-interface features, such as the ability to turn it off temporarily. UUCP: {rosevax,amdahl!bungia,chinet}orbit!stag!thelake!steve
ralph@nastassia.laas.fr (Ralph P. Sobek) (09/14/89)
In article <890912.10162418.032882@SFA.CP6> Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252) writes: | Both Packer and DCSquish are excellent programs, one is designed | for the hacker-type who thinks nothing of spending hours to milk out an | extra K of remaining space. ... | As a user, the STer really does have a choice. Use whatever | program works for you. As for me and my house, DCSquish is the one. | | Larry Rymal: |East Texas Atari 68NNNers| <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET> To my mind, all we need now is a front-end to both, which tries both and keeps the best. :-) Really, why not just keep both programs around? As Larry said, they are both excellent programs! Ralph P. Sobek Disclaimer: The above ruminations are my own. ralph@laas.laas.fr Addresses are ordered by importance. ralph@laas.uucp, or ...!uunet!mcvax!laas!ralph If all else fails, try: SOBEK@FRMOP11.BITNET sobek@eclair.Berkeley.EDU =============================================================================== Upon the instruments of death the sunlight brightly gleams. -- King Crimson