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***  Pirate Magazine Issue IV  /  File 4 of 10  ***
***  >Zipping and Archiving<                     ***
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Swapping warez requires considerable zipping, unzipping, and rezipping, and we
offer the following tips to help assure that we get the most out of our ZIP
programs and procedures. ALthough most boards will accept any reputable
compression, there's not much disagreement on which compression method is the
best: Phil Katz's PKZIP is the standard. It's fast, tight, and offers many
options.  Although some, such as ICE 1.14, may have higher compression ratios,
no other program has the all around power and utility as PKware.
Unfortunately, too many warez hobbyists don't use PKZIP to it's full potential,
and this can result in lost files, confused archives, or incomplete files on
uploading. We offer the following tips to improve zipping procedures.
 
1. Always zip from the original disks or programs when possible rather then do
a file dump and then rezip. In a file dump, it is easy to forget to include
subdirectories.
 
2. *ALWAYS* put a zip comment in each zip file so you (or others) know what
that file is. If you are zipping up a program called "LAWRITE" that has 6
disks, with the first being the program disk, type this command:
    PKZIP LRT21-1  (for "Law Rite, ver. 2.1, disk 1). Then, type:  PKZIP -Z
    LRT21-1   (this will allow a zip comment) and type at the prompt something
    like: "LAWRITE BY MACON, VER. 2.1, PROGRAM DISK  (1/6).  This lets you (or
    whoever) know what the program is, what the disk is should the installation
    procedure ask for the specific disk, and give you the version so it won't
    be confused with an upgrade.
 
3. Experienced hobbyists keep their backup zip files as they come
off the disk, and this means *KEEPING SUBDIRECTORIES INTACT AND SEPARATE FROM
OTHER FILES.**  There are two ways to do this.  The first is to INSTALL a
complete program, including all options, so a complete program exists on hard
disk. Then, we go into each subdirectory and zip the files. For example, if
LAWRITE has a main directory called LAWRITE and three subdirectories called a)
FILES, b) LAW, and c) DICTNRY, you first go into each of the three
subdirectories and zip the the files with the command:  PKZIP -M FILES (or LAW
or DICTNRY).  This will zip all the files in that directory and remove them
after zipping. This saves the need to delete files individually.  THEN: Go into
the LAWRITE directory and type the command:
  PKZIP -m -P -r LRT21 (note lower case m & r and UPPER case P)
This will zip the entire program, Law Rite 2.1. The -m command
removes individual files, the -P switch retains the file's original
path, and the -r recurses the subdirectories. For a helpful article on
this, even for experienced users, see Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols:
"Zippity PKzip" in PC COMPUTING, Feb., 1990 (p. 96-99).
 
When finished, you should have one main zip file that contains all the files
from the LAWRITE directory and three additional zip files from the three
subdirectories. BE SURE TO ADD A "README.NOW" note and explain that, when
unzipping, these directories and subdirectories should be created, unzipped in
the LAWRITE directory (with the PKUNZIP command). If you have a large program
with several zip files in it (ALWAYS RUN THE PKUNZIP -v *.zip command to see
what's in a zip file before unzipping), you might first create subdirectoriese
named after those zip files just to be safe, and keep your fingers crossed that
whoever zipped it knew what they were doing.  That's why it is crucial to name
those other zip files exactly as the subdirectory appears.
 
The disadvantage of this kind of zipping for hobbyists is that when unzipping,
the files will be from an installed program and not the original disk. This
means that if unzipped on a different computer, some needed files may be
missing. Besides, it's always helpful to have a second backup that
doesn't take much space that is complete. That's why we prefer
to keep zips off the original disks, because you never know what
kind of system it will be unzipped on, and installation programs
rarely copy over all files, but only those needed during the
initial configuration.
 
We suggest creating a test directory with a few subdirectories and placed some
short, unneeded files in them and then spending an hour practicing with the
PKzip/UNzip commands until you are familiar with them. You might also consider
experimenting with various batch commands, and use wildcards to create an
auto-zip program that saves typing time.
 
There have been reports that ICE 1.14 is a hacked version of LHarc, but this
does not appear true. A nice summary of other compression programs appeared in
PC COMPUTING (see above):
 
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FOUR OTHER DATA COMPRESSORS PKzip stands above other data-compression shareware
in terms of overall performance. Here are some more very popular utilities:
 
ARC 5.02. Long the industry standard, Arc 6.02 has deteriorated into a
middle-of-the-road performer in terms of speed and compression ratios.  It has
the bad habit of aborting a job and leaving a file half-compressed if it
doesn't have enough disk space to complete the operation....
 
ICE .14. One of the newest entries in the data-compression arena, Ice (also
known as LHarc) emerged as a popular shareware program in Japan.  It has the
highest compression ratio of any program mentioned here, but it's painfully
slow--and very difficult to use, in part because of its limited documentation.
Ice .14 is currently available on GEnie.
 
PAK 2.1.  Though it's been around for a while, Pak has never had the prominence
of either Arc or PKzip, mostly because its performance lags behind that of the
other two programs. Pak excels at handling multiple file specifications and can
create and convert files read by Arc.
 
Zoo 2.01. Neither the fastest nor the most efficient compression utility
available, Zoo offers some advantages. This shareware program allows you to
selectively extract multiple generations of the same file--a terrific feature
for programmers and writers. It also spans several operating systems, including
Xenix, VAX/VMS, and Amiga DOS, so that you can archive files across platforms.
It's a difficult program to master, and the documentation isn't much help in
figuring it out.
 
 
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