Scot L. Harris wrote:
> The question is should there be sim links for compress and uncompress to
> gzip and gunzip?
I don't think anyone's really answered this.
Yes, gunzip will uncompress compressed data. But gzip was written to use
a different, incompatible, much better, and patent-free algorithm than
the one used in compress, and doesn't produce files compatible with
traditional uncompress.
This is important because there are still computers out there with only
traditional Unix compress and uncompress installed, and if you need to
produce files for them, you need to use the appropriate algorithm.
So gzip is not a replacement for compress.
I understand that the patent in question is the same one that GIF files
use, and has expired.
James.
--
E-mail address: james | Space Opera: General term for a subgenre of adventure
@westexe.demon.co.uk | SF in which the men are heroic, the women beautiful,
| the monsters monstrous, and the spaceships make
| whooshing sounds in hard vacuum. -- Eric Raymond
