d83_sven_a@tekno.chalmers.se (Sven (Sciz) Axelsson) (03/09/89)
Consider this as an open letter to Raymond Lau and all StuffIt users: This truly marvellous program is now the de-facto standard for file compaction and use in file transfer for the Macintosh. It among other things implements the BinHex4 protocol for transferring a binary file into ascii characters. As you all know, this is the way all the good stuff in the comp.binaries.mac archieve is stored. As mr. Lau says in the StuffIt manual, this format is somewhat wasteful in the way it maps binary bytes to ascii characters. The Unix programs atob and btoa can do this more efficiently. Well, mr. Lau, why not go all the way and implementing the atob/btoa protocol in the next release of StuffIt? I, for one wouldn't mind getting my telephone bill cut by having less data to transfer through the modem. What do you think out there? Should we shift the standard? This would also have the added benefit of allowing us to pick up the (admittedly few) packed files from the Unix archieves. +-------------------------+--------------------------------+------------------+ | Sven Axelsson | d83_sven_a@tekno.chalmers.se | DISCLAIMER: | | dep:t of Linguistics | (^^ best ^^) | | | univ. of Gothenburg | dlv_sa@hum.gu.se | This is not | | SWEDEN | usdsa@seguc21.bitnet | a disclaimer. | +-------------------------+--------------------------------+------------------+
swerling@caen.engin.umich.edu (Ace Swerling) (03/10/89)
In article <604@tekno.chalmers.se> d83_sven_a@tekno.chalmers.se (Sven (Sciz) Axelsson) writes: >Well, mr. Lau, why not go all the way and implementing the atob/btoa protocol >in the next release of StuffIt? I, for one wouldn't mind getting my telephone >bill cut by having less data to transfer through the modem. Hear, hear! I think that BinHex exacts too much of a cost in size for what it does, especially when there's another alternative out there that can significantly cut data size. -Ace This is only my opinion.
dce@stan.UUCP (David Elliott) (03/10/89)
In article <604@tekno.chalmers.se> d83_sven_a@tekno.chalmers.se (Sven (Sciz) Axelsson) writes: >Consider this as an open letter to Raymond Lau and all StuffIt users: The documentation for StuffIt actually asks that the standard be changed, and I agree. Two things: 1. Could someone send me some info on what the atob/btoa data format looks like? 2. Ray (if you are listening), when you do add this feature, it would sure be nice to have it (as well as the BinHex and PackIt interfaces) allow selection of multiple files at once. It's a real pain unbinhexing 221 Technical Notes files one at a time. -- David Elliott ...!pyramid!boulder!stan!dce "Splish splash, I was rakin' in the cash" -- Eno
lim@iris.ucdavis.edu (Lloyd Lim) (03/10/89)
In article <570@salgado.stan.UUCP> dce@salgado.UUCP (David Elliott) writes: >[...] It's a real pain unbinhexing 221 Technical > Notes files one at a time. [...] I agree. However, I find its always easier and faster to do the binhex decoding on the UNIX side. Use xbin to decode the binhex to the three files that macput/macget use (filename.data, filename.rsrc, filename.info). Then use macbin to combine these three files into one in MacBinary format (filename.bin). This resulting file can be transferred by many communication programs that support MacBinary. (I use MicroPhone II.) The file you download is much smaller than the binhex you would have downloaded. The power of the UNIX shell also lets you do stuff like xbin *.hqx which certainly beats doing them one at a time on the Mac side. I'm not against atob/btoa - I think it's a good idea too. I just thought I'd let you know there's a better way than decoding on the Mac side when you have a UNIX system. Source for xbin and macbin is at most ftp sites with Mac archives. Hope this makes your life easier. +++ Lloyd Lim Internet: lim@iris.ucdavis.edu Compuserve: 72647,660 US Mail: 146 Lysle Leach Hall, U.C. Davis, Davis, CA 95616
templon@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon) (03/10/89)
Count my vote as yes. I didn't know about this unix utility, but I have thought of the irony of stuffing a program, only to bloat it by binhexing. jt
jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall) (03/14/89)
In article <570@salgado.stan.UUCP> dce@salgado.UUCP (David Elliott) writes: > at once. It's a real pain unbinhexing 221 Technical > Notes files one at a time. [with StuffIt] Here, here! Computers are supposed to help you AVOID doing repetitive chores, not CREATE them. C'mon, Ray, give us a multiple select (or better yet, a wildcard)! :-) . -- v v sssss|| joseph hall || 201-1D Hampton Lee Court v v s s || jnh@ece-csc.ncsu.edu (Internet) || Cary, NC 27511 v sss || the opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my -----------|| employer, north carolina state university . . . . . . . . . . .
dce@stan.UUCP (David Elliott) (03/14/89)
In article <3948@ece-csc.UUCP> jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall) writes: >In article <570@salgado.stan.UUCP> dce@salgado.UUCP (David Elliott) writes: >> at once. It's a real pain unbinhexing 221 Technical >> Notes files one at a time. [with StuffIt] > >Here, here! Computers are supposed to help you AVOID doing repetitive >chores, not CREATE them. C'mon, Ray, give us a multiple select (or better >yet, a wildcard)! :-) I would very much like to point out that StuffIt does allow multiple "unstuffs". You select the documents in the finder and double-click on them with the SHIFT key down, and StuffIt unpacks them all. Also, to the person that suggested getting the programs to unbinhex files on Unix, thanks. I finished unpacking the Tech Notes this weekend, and had a major disk problem yesterday, and was not looking forward to unpacking them again. Now, with xbin and macbin from the sumex archives, I should be able to get them back onto my system very quickly (after which I will back them up!) -- David Elliott ...!pyramid!boulder!stan!dce "Splish splash, I was rakin' in the cash" -- Eno
sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten) (03/14/89)
In article <3948@ece-csc.UUCP> jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall) writes: >In article <570@salgado.stan.UUCP> dce@salgado.UUCP (David Elliott) writes: >> at once. It's a real pain unbinhexing 221 Technical >> Notes files one at a time. [with StuffIt] > >Here, here! Computers are supposed to help you AVOID doing repetitive >chores, not CREATE them. C'mon, Ray, give us a multiple select (or better >yet, a wildcard)! :-) A "quiet mode", a la MacCompress would also be nice. Much of the overhead involved in unstuffing files (especially small ones) seems to come from constantly updating all the windows. Unless an error is detected, I'm quite happy to have Stuffit go about its business without all the fireworks. (This is not to detract in any way from Stuffit in its current incarnation -- it's truly a fine and useful program). -- Steve Baumgarten | "New York... when civilization falls apart, Davis Polk & Wardwell | remember, we were way ahead of you." cmcl2!esquire!sbb | esquire!sbb@cmcl2.nyu.edu | - David Letterman
isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock) (03/15/89)
In article <3406@silver.bacs.indiana.edu> templon@silver.UUCP (jeffrey templon) writes: > > Count my vote as yes. I didn't know about this unix utility, >but I have thought of the irony of stuffing a program, only to bloat >it by binhexing. > Boy! Look at all these requests for StuffIt modifications! I hope all these avid users have at least sent in their shareware fees before asking for more... Ken DISCLAIMER: Me? I'm just a satisfied StuffIt user. Ken Hancock '90 | BITNET/UUCP/ Personal Computing Ctr Consultant | INTERNET: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu -----------------------------------+---------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER? I don't get paid enough to worry about disclaimers.
templon@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (jeffrey templon) (03/15/89)
re: satisfied stuffit user: yes, and a PAYING satisfied stuffit user at that. i also paid for Medit even though the printing sometimes breaks. feels kinda nice. i highly recommend it (paying shareware fees.) jt
ralph@computing-maths.cardiff.ac.uk (Ralph Martin) (03/15/89)
One good reason for not using atob and btoa - not all systems which people want to download/upload .hqx archives on are Unix machines. Case in point - we have a multics system here which barfs if fed either ofg the characters @ or #. What I would like to see instead is a stuffit option which says make and archive AND binhex encode it, all in one go, and vice versa, to save on interaction time with stuffit. -- Dr Ralph Martin Department of Computing Mathematics University of Wales College of Cardiff PO Box 916 Cardiff CF2 4YN United Kingdom
roger@homxc.ATT.COM (Another Technical Editor) (03/15/89)
In article <1073@esquire.UUCP>, sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten) writes: < In article <3948@ece-csc.UUCP> jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall) writes: < >In article <570@salgado.stan.UUCP> dce@salgado.UUCP (David Elliott) writes: < >> at once. It's a real pain unbinhexing 221 Technical < >> Notes files one at a time. [with StuffIt] < > < >Here, here! Computers are supposed to help you AVOID doing repetitive < >chores, not CREATE them. C'mon, Ray, give us a multiple select (or better < >yet, a wildcard)! :-) < < A "quiet mode", a la MacCompress would also be nice. Much of the < overhead involved in unstuffing files (especially small ones) seems < to come from constantly updating all the windows. Unless an error < is detected, I'm quite happy to have Stuffit go about its business < without all the fireworks. Add my vote. Stuffit does its job wonderfully, but it really hurts to have to spend 45 minutes at the Mac doing repetitive mousing and waiting, mousing and waiting. (I download a lot of stuff at once.) Don't people buy computers to avoid this sort of drudgery? I'd be happy to see a built-in procedure that: - Unhexes everything in the folder that can be unhexed. - UnPacks everything in the folder that can be unpacked. - UnStuffs everything in the folder that can be unstuffed. - Extracts everything from each archive that can be, etc. - Doesn't bother telling me the Lempel-Ziv algorithm was used. (Like I care.) - Lets me know when it's done. Roger Tait ..att!homxc!roger AT&T Bell Labs Technical Publications Holmdel, NJ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Technical Writers."
macman@ethz.UUCP (Danny Schwendener) (03/16/89)
>> at once. It's a real pain unbinhexing 221 Technical >> Notes files one at a time. [with StuffIt] > >Here, here! Computers are supposed to help you AVOID doing repetitive >chores, not CREATE them. C'mon, Ray, give us a multiple select (or better >yet, a wildcard)! :-) How about implementing it as a MPW tool? You could give him the file names as parameters (with wildcards, hint, hint) and commands qualifiers for the options (binhex, stuff, destuff, encrypt, etc). And even better, you could run it within a script, automatically, and have the script perform other nice things (like distributing it into the right folders, cleaning up all unused files, etc). This is just the thing we're looking for, for our on-site PD servers. -- Danny Schwendener ETH Macintosh Support