[comp.sys.cbm] .sda & .lnx ??

warren@col.hp.com (Warren Tustin) (08/22/90)

I have looked at what is available as downloads from ftp, 
and many of the files have the suffixes .sda  &  .lnx
What do I need to use these files and is it also available by ftp?
Thanks for any help you can give.

Warren @col.hp.com

treesh@bach.helios.nd.edu (08/22/90)

The SDA files are easy to deal with.  That stands for "Self Desolving Arcive"
You simply load them up and run them.  It will tell you its about to write
files to your disk drive.  Make sure you have enough room for them.

The LNX files are not so easy.  They are files that have been squished together
with a program called LYNX.  The problem with this program is that there are
over thirteen versions of it, and several are not compatable with each other.  Iwould recomend that you load that file ,8 and list it.  You should get one line number that will tell you which version to use to un-pack it.

ctfm

mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Marc Roussel) (08/22/90)

In article <16200009@col.hp.com> warren@col.hp.com (Warren Tustin) writes:
>I have looked at what is available as downloads from ftp, 
>and many of the files have the suffixes .sda  &  .lnx
>What do I need to use these files and is it also available by ftp?
>Thanks for any help you can give.

An sda file is a Self-Dissolving Archive.  Just load it and run: it will
then dissolve itself automatically to disk.  (You did remember to put a
blank, formatted disk in the drive before you typed RUN, didn't you?
Good!)

A lnx file is a group of files that has been archived using the Lynx
archiver.  You need to get Lynx (available at the usual ftp sites) to
dissolve lnx archives.

If you have access to Qlink, you could also get Omega-Q.  This utility
dissolves all the common archive formats.

                                Sincerely,

				Marc R. Roussel
                                mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca

scott@max.u.washington.edu (08/23/90)

In article <16200009@col.hp.com>, warren@col.hp.com (Warren Tustin) writes:
> I have looked at what is available as downloads from ftp,
> and many of the files have the suffixes .sda  &  .lnx
> What do I need to use these files and is it also available by ftp?
> Thanks for any help you can give.
>
> Warren @col.hp.com
 
Files with the ".sda" and ".lnx" suffixes means that the file
has been archived. So inorder to be able to execute those file
you need to extract/dissolve the archive files.
 
".lnx"
This means that the file has been lynxed. So you need to get the
LYNX archiver in order to dissolve it. It is available in
most of the FTP site and in Q-link.   
 
".arc"   (another popular archive format)
This means that the file has been ARCed. So you need to get the
ARC archiver in order to dissolve it. It is available in
most of the FTP site and in Q-link.
 
".sda"
This file has been archived in a special way that you don't need
any other program to extract the original files, hence it is called
Self-Dissolving-Archive. Just load it and run it as though it were
a BASIC program and run it; it will do the extraction by itself.
 
Well, I hope this answers your question.
 
Sincerely,
Scott K. Stephen

lockemer@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com (08/23/90)

> I have looked at what is available as downloads from ftp, 
> and many of the files have the suffixes .sda  &  .lnx
> What do I need to use these files and is it also available by ftp?
> Thanks for any help you can give.


sda stands for "(s)elf (d)isolving (a)rc" file and you don't need anything to
use this type of file. All you have to do is load and run it, and it disolves
itself into the separate files of the program it contains.

lnx files require a lynx utility program to un-lynx them. There are many
versions available, but it is best to try and get the most recent. I am not
sure what version lynx is up to, however.

Todd Lockemer