[comp.sys.mac] Stuffit file extractor program for Unix posted

weber@brand.usc.edu (Allan G. Weber) (02/24/88)

Some time ago I posted to the net a Unix program called "unpit" that
would unpack the data fork of a Packit file into the component files
to allow selective downloading.  Packit has since been replaced by
Stuffit as the file archiver of choice for most recent postings.  I've
now posted to comp.sources.mac the sources for "unsit", a program that
does the same thing to a Stuffit archive file.  It will separate the
components of the ".sit" file into the individual files and leave them
on the Unix system in the proper form for downloading with "macput".

At first glance, this may sound like a relatively useless program
since you can always download the ".sit" file and break it up on the
Mac.  However, I've found it to be a big help when dealing with the
Mac postings.  Also, if you have ever had to upload a large number of
files from the Mac to Unix, this is the program for you.  Use Stuffit
to put all the files in a single archive, upload it, and then
break it apart with "unsit".

The primary method of compression for Stuffit is the same as that used
by the Unix program "compress".  Unsit will only work if the compress
program is on the system since it uncompresses the file by opening a
pipe to the program and passing the data through compress and into the
output file.  If you don't have "compress" on your system, it can be
obtained from the comp.unix.sources archives.

				Allan Weber
				USC Signal and Image Processing Institute
				Arpa: weber%brand.usc.edu@oberon.usc.edu
				uucp: ...sdcrdcf!usc-oberon!brand!weber

wbell@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Warren Bell) (03/02/88)

In article <7178@oberon.USC.EDU> weber@brand.usc.edu (Allan G. Weber) writes:
>Some time ago I posted to the net a Unix program called "unpit" that
>would unpack the data fork of a Packit file into the component files
>to allow selective downloading.  Packit has since been replaced by
>Stuffit as the file archiver of choice for most recent postings.  I've
>now posted to comp.sources.mac the sources for "unsit", a program that
>does the same thing to a Stuffit archive file.  .....

>				USC Signal and Image Processing Institute
>				Arpa: weber%brand.usc.edu@oberon.usc.edu
>				uucp: ...sdcrdcf!usc-oberon!brand!weber


This is a welcome addition to the unix-mac utilities.
Another tool that might be useful would be a Unix program that puts
something from Unix *into* ".sit" format. Either that, or a version
of 'compress/uncompress' and 'shar/unshar' for the Mac, so that I could
bundle things together (to save downloading many little files one at a time)
and compress them before downloading (to save downloading time).

-- 
----
University of Toronto Computing Services	       Warren Bell
UUCP: {cbosgd,ihnp4,utai,utcsri,utzoo}!utgpu!wbell
Internet: wbell@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu
BITNET: wbell at utoronto, wbell at utorgpu

Disclaimer: the views expressed above are mine, and do not in any way reflect 
the views of my employers.

hoofb@psu-cs.UUCP (Bruce Hoof) (03/05/88)

In article <1988Mar2.115040.11949@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> wbell@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Warren Bell) writes:
>Another tool that might be useful would be a Unix program that puts
>something from Unix *into* ".sit" format. Either that, or a version
>of 'compress/uncompress' and 'shar/unshar' for the Mac, so that I could
>bundle things together (to save downloading many little files one at a time)
>and compress them before downloading (to save downloading time).
>the views of my employers.

YES!!!  It would be nice to have a Unix utility to .sit a file that we
could unstuff on our Mac.  I have often had the trouble of uploading
many files from my Mac to the vax and the same goes the other way.  This
would save many keystrokes and minutes, not to mention frustration!!!
This utility would especially be useful with seperate compilation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: I am not attached to any organization.  I am just a poor student
		getting through school. Hopefully soon.

Bruce Hoof
Computer Science Student

UUCP:
	hoofb@psu-cs
	bruce@escargot
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: I am not attached to any organization.  I am just a poor student
		getting through school. Hopefully soon.

Bruce Hoof
Computer Science Student

UUCP:
	hoofb@psu-cs
	bruce@escargot

km@cadre.dsl.PITTSBURGH.EDU (Ken Mitchum) (03/05/88)

In article <530@psu-cs.UUCP> hoofb@psu-cs.UUCP (Bruce Hoof) writes:
>YES!!!  It would be nice to have a Unix utility to .sit a file that we
>could unstuff on our Mac.  I have often had the trouble of uploading
>many files from my Mac to the vax and the same goes the other way.  This
>would save many keystrokes and minutes, not to mention frustration!!!
>This utility would especially be useful with seperate compilation.

There already is a "tar" available for the mac, which works uses the same
formats as the "tar" on Unix systems, and can be used to archive entire
directories and subdirectories. It will work only with text files, however.
It is much faster than Stuffit, as there is no file compaction - extracting
a 1mb tar file of 60 - 70 files and two directories takes about 45 seconds
on a MacII.

wbell@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Warren Bell) (03/08/88)

In article <1051@cadre.dsl.PITTSBURGH.EDU> km@cadre.dsl.pittsburgh.edu.UUCP (Ken Mitchum) writes:
>In article <530@psu-cs.UUCP> hoofb@psu-cs.UUCP (Bruce Hoof) writes:
>>YES!!!  It would be nice to have a Unix utility to .sit a file that we
>>could unstuff on our Mac.  I have often had the trouble of uploading
>>many files from my Mac to the vax and the same goes the other way.  This
>>would save many keystrokes and minutes, not to mention frustration!!!
>>This utility would especially be useful with seperate compilation.
>
>There already is a "tar" available for the mac, which works uses the same
>formats as the "tar" on Unix systems, and can be used to archive entire
>directories and subdirectories. It will work only with text files, however.
>It is much faster than Stuffit, as there is no file compaction - extracting
>a 1mb tar file of 60 - 70 files and two directories takes about 45 seconds
>on a MacII.


Well, the massive-of-filenames problem is solved by this, but it doesn't
do compression, which saves time (and money) in downloading. 
-- 
----
University of Toronto Computing Services	       Warren Bell
UUCP: {cbosgd,ihnp4,utai,utcsri,utzoo}!utgpu!wbell
Internet: wbell@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu
BITNET: wbell at utoronto, wbell at utorgpu

Disclaimer: the views expressed above are mine, and do not in any way reflect 
the views of my employers.

holmes@dalcs.UUCP (Ray Holmes) (03/09/88)

In article <1988Mar8.130410.17242@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> wbell@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Warren Bell) writes:
>In article <1051@cadre.dsl.PITTSBURGH.EDU> km@cadre.dsl.pittsburgh.edu.UUCP (Ken Mitchum) writes:
>> [ ... ]
>>There already is a "tar" available for the mac, which works uses the same
>>formats as the "tar" on Unix systems, and can be used to archive entire
>>directories and subdirectories. It will work only with text files, however.
>>It is much faster than Stuffit, as there is no file compaction - extracting
>>a 1mb tar file of 60 - 70 files and two directories takes about 45 seconds
>>on a MacII.
>Well, the massive-of-filenames problem is solved by this, but it doesn't
>do compression, which saves time (and money) in downloading. 

However, while the TAR files are about 30% larger than the sum of the
individual files, if "stuffit" is applied to the TAR file, the sit file is
generally smaller than a "stuffit" of all the individual files.  As TAR
also preserves all of the directory (folder) hierarchy information, I find
that TAR at least is invaluable and compression certainly helps.

[P.S. Don't do as I did and (by accident) gave the command to create a
 TAR file of my entire disk -- VERY FAST (about 1 sec/MBy as I recall) but
 my disk never recovered (about 8 MBy missing until reformat)]

Ray Holmes, Department of Math., Stats., & C.S., Dalhousie U., Halifax, N.S.
holmes@dalcs.UUCP			BITNET or UUCP
holmes@cs.dal.cdn			BITNET or CDN
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