======================================================================== File: HeadShrink-0.50.zip Author: Peter Hinely (phinely@hawaii.edu) Release: 0.50 (July 20, 1998) Compatibility: Known to work with BeOS R3.1 Location: contrib/add-ons/tracker Description: Tracker add-on to compress files to ".boz" format Notes: HeadShrink is a BeOS Tracker add-on which compresses the currently selected files in the Tracker using a highly efficient compression algorithm. HeadShrink compresses files into ".boz" format. boz is an acronym for Bzip2 Over Zip, a psuedo file format of my invention. The boz compression process used by HeadShrink occurs in two stages as follows: In the first stage, zip -0 (storage only, no compression) is used to archive files and directories, and their associated attributes. In the second stage, the superior compression afforded by bzip2 is used to compress the archive smaller than it could be using zip at the maximal compression setting (-9). You're not using a legacy operating system... Why use a legacy compression algorithm? You will need the Tracker add-on ExpandMe by R'alf Moll to decompress files compressed by HeadShrink. ======================================================================== HeadShrink by Peter Hinely (phinely@hawaii.edu) based on ZipMe by R'alf Moll (raphael.moll@capway.com) ------------------------------------------------------ HeadShrink is a BeOS Tracker add-on which compresses the currently selected files in the Tracker using a highly efficient compression algorithm. HeadShrink compresses files into ".boz" format. boz is an acronym for Bzip2 Over Zip, a psuedo file format of my invention. The boz compression process used by HeadShrink occurs in two stages as follows: In the first stage, zip -0 (storage only, no compression) is used to archive files and directories, and their associated attributes. In the second stage, the superior compression afforded by bzip2 is used to compress the archive smaller than it could be using zip at the maximal compression setting (-9). You're not using a legacy operating system... Why use a legacy compression algorithm? You will need the Tracker add-on ExpandMe by R'alf Moll to decompress files compressed by HeadShrink. I'd like to give a warm thanks to R'alf Moll for allowing me to use his ZipMe source code and for being an all-around good guy. HeadShrink is based almost entirely upon his ZipMe source code. Also, I'd like to point out that for a small minority of files, zip -9 will achieve better compression than HeadShrink will. Standard Disclaimer: Though it is not intended to, HeadShrink could eat your files for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack. The user of the software contained in this release (in other words, you) assumes total responsibility for all damages incurred through this software's use... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Isn't about time you did a complete backup onto external media anyway? Dependencies ------------ HeadShrink requires that all of the following utilites be installed on your system: ExpandMe 0.6.4 or later (see http://www.mygale.org/~ralf/beos/index.html) bzip2, bunzip2 (see http://www.inspired.to/be/the_best/products.html) zip, unzip (see http://www.qnx.com/~chrish/Be/software/index.html) Installation Instructions ------------------------- 1. Make sure that ExpandMe 0.6.4 or later (IT MUST BE VERSION 0.6.4 OR LATER) is in the /boot/home/config/add-ons/Tracker directory. 2. Make sure that bzip2, bunzip2, zip, and unzip are in your /boot/home/config/bin directory (or somewhere in your path). 3. Place HeadShrink (or a link to HeadShrink) in the /boot/home/config/add-ons/Tracker directory. How to use HeadShrink --------------------- Select one or more files in the tracker. Hold down the control key and choose Add-Ons -> HeadShrink from the contextual menu that appears to compress the selected files into boz format. If you want the current date appended to the archive name, hold down the shift key. To decompress files, select them in the Tracker, Hold down the control key and choose Add-Ons -> ExpandMe from the contextual menu that appears. Cross-platform Compatibility Notes ---------------------------------- The boz pseudo-format can be used to transfer data to and from Windows and Unix-based systems because zip, unzip, bzip2, and bunzip2 are available for those systems. As an example of how to decompress a boz archive from a shell, you would do the following: mv myarchive.boz myarchive.zip.bz2 bunzip2 myarchive.zip.bz2 unzip myarchive.zip Version History --------------- 0.50 - First release. Based mostly R'alf Moll's code with some improvements, including proper handling of metacharacters in file names in shell commands, and checking for return code of utilities used. The source code is a mish-mash which still needs to be cleaned up. I should really start from scratch, modifying a Tracker add-on example.