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Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 02:40:00 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Matthew D. Fuller" <fullermd@futuresouth.com>
To: Mike Smith <mike@smith.net.au>
cc: Michael Schuster <Michael.Schuster@utimaco.co.at>,
        "hackers@FreeBSD.ORG" <hackers@FreeBSD.ORG>
Subject: Re: .zip vs. .tar.gz [was: zipfs filesystem anyone ? ] 
In-Reply-To: <199710240656.QAA01921@word.smith.net.au>
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On Fri, 24 Oct 1997, Mike Smith wrote:

> If tar was smart, it would use the external compression tool to 
> compress the data for each file as it read it, rather than compressing 
> the output stream.  You would still lose, as the tar format does not 
> have a central directory.
I have to disagree with this.  it's much more efficient space-wise to
compress a tarball than it is to tar a bunch of compressed files.  and tar
isn't meant to be a random-access archive method; tar and gzip are meant
to save space and preserve directrory/file layout.  And they're perfectly
suited for this task.  They don't do what you're discussing too well, no,
but they aren't MEANT to.  tar is smart for what tis' doing.

> 
> mike
> 


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|       FreeBSD; the way computers were meant to be       |
* "The only reason I'm burning my candle at both ends, is *
| that I haven't figured out how to light the middle yet."|
*    fullermd@futuresouth.com      :-}  MAtthew Fuller    *
|      http://keystone.westminster.edu/~fullermd          |
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