[comp.sys.mac] UnixBinary to MacBinary

davidp@skat.usc.edu (David Peterson) (06/12/89)

Using a GatorBox you can mount UNIX directories/accounts as if they
were AppleShare volumes. My question is, what is the difference
between binary files on a an AppleShare mounted UNIX volume, and the
MacBinary files on a normal AS volume or hard disk?

For instance: Say I ftp program.hqx from somewhere then run xbin on it
to get Program.bin. If I then do a binary ftp or binary xmodem on it
what I get on the mac side is the executable file Program. If I do a
finder copy of the file from the AS mounted UNIX directory to my hard
disk what I end up with is the same unexecutable file Program.bin that
I have on the UNIX side. What is the difference between these two, and
is there someway to go from one to the other without doing a binary
tranfer; ie a finder copy? On the UNIX side the Program.bin file is
given a type of 'TEXT' and a creator of 'unix.' Is this specific to
the GatorBox, or is this whole thing specific to the GatorBox?

If I finder copy the program.hqx version, then run BinHex on the mac
side it works fine, but thats to be expected with text.

Any info would be appreciated. 
Thanks in advance.

-dave.
davidp@skat.usc.edu

hpoppe@bierstadt.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (06/13/89)

In article <17772@usc.edu> davidp@skat.usc.edu (David Peterson) writes:
>
>
>Using a GatorBox you can mount UNIX directories/accounts as if they
>were AppleShare volumes. My question is, what is the difference
>between binary files on a an AppleShare mounted UNIX volume, and the
>MacBinary files on a normal AS volume or hard disk?
>
  The format of files on a Mac AppleShare server is the same as
  files on a local Mac disk. "MacBinary" is a format for transferring and
  storing Mac files on non-Mac systems. Communications programs like
  VersaTerm or NCSA Telnet support MacBinary.

  A GatorBox can be configured to store files in either "Apple Single" or
  "Apple Double" format on an NFS mounted volume. These are "Apple blessed"
  formats. "Apple Single" is similar (but not the same)
  to "MacBinary" (both forks in the same
  file). In "Apple Double", the resource and data forks are stored in separate
  files.
>
>For instance: Say I ftp program.hqx from somewhere then run xbin on it
>to get Program.bin. If I then do a binary ftp or binary xmodem on it
>what I get on the mac side is the executable file Program. If I do a
>finder copy of the file from the AS mounted UNIX directory to my hard
>disk what I end up with is the same unexecutable file Program.bin that
>I have on the UNIX side. What is the difference between these two, and
>is there someway to go from one to the other without doing a binary
>tranfer; ie a finder copy? On the UNIX side the Program.bin file is
>given a type of 'TEXT' and a creator of 'unix.' Is this specific to
>the GatorBox, or is this whole thing specific to the GatorBox?
>
Since the output of xbin is not Apple Single/Double format, you get the
behavior you see. Even if you had an xbin replacement that created files
in Apple Single/Double format, you would probably run into trouble unless
the replacement also updated the Desktop file that the GatorBox
maintains on the UNIX AS file server.

All non-Mac created files are assumed to be of type TEXT (even if they are
not). If the GatorBox is configured to "Convert TEXT files" for this
volume, then the UNIX end-of-line character (ASCII LF) is converted to
the Mac EOL character (ASCII CR) and vice versa for all non-Mac created
files and for Mac created files of type TEXT. This lets you directly access
typical UNIX text files with Mac text editors. On the other hand, you cannot
access UNIX binary files with Mac application unless you turn this feature
off. (And this is not something that the user can do dynamically.)
>
>If I finder copy the program.hqx version, then run BinHex on the mac
>side it works fine, but thats to be expected with text.
>
   What I do is to run (the equivalent of) BinHex on the Mac against the
   .hqx file stored on the UNIX AS file server, storing the output on the
   Mac (usually). In order for this to work, the GatorBox must be configured
   to "Convert text files" (that is, convert ASCII LF to CR).
>
>Any info would be appreciated. 
>Thanks in advance.
>
>-dave.
>davidp@skat.usc.edu

Herb Poppe      NCAR                         INTERNET: hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu
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