From: markkj@muse.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Mark Johnston)
Subject: Re: Could someone kindly answer a newbie's question?
Organization: Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 22:17:01 GMT

David.White@launchpad.unc.edu (David White) writes:
>Hi, All. Hope you'll bear with me for a bit (including if I'm posting in
>the wrong newsgroup!)  I just entered the wonderful world of Macs in full
>force last month.

>Since then, I've discovered how to decompress and make-usable files that
>have extensions of .SIT, .CPT, .SEA (tough one, huh?) and .HQX.  But what
>about files that have a .Z extension?  (e.g. fefifofum.hqx.Z)  If I
>remember correctly, it has something to do with UNIX compression (?), so
>what program do I need to decompress it?

    Yes.  A file with a ".Z" suffix is a file that has been "compress"'ed by
the UNIX tool of the same name.  Just run the program "uncompress" and this will
remove both the ".Z" suffix and the compression.

>Since I've got your attention, perhaps you'd humor me and answer these
>questions?

    Did you hear the one about the irish man, the english...

    Apologies for the lack of humor in that one :-)

>- What's the deal with StuffIt and Compact Pro?  Are they just 2 rival,
>incompatible file compressing programs?  Will either one decompress the other?

    Both are compression programs, but as to whether or not they are rivals
I am not sure.  It would be more likely that both programs' authors wanted to
write compresssion programs.

>- What's the deal with BinHex?  Why are most uploaded programs in .HQX
>format if it makes the file BIGGER?

    Programs are put into .hqx format to enable binary files to be posted
on *net.  What it effectively does is convert all the non-printable characters
to printable ones.  This may give you some hints as to why the files would
be bigger...

>- Are there any other extensions besides what I've listed that I'll need
>to know about? (and their corresponding programs?)

    The list above would cover 99% of the mac archives that are posted around
the place.  I'd imagine that the FAQ for comp.binaries.mac would cover other
types of archives, but offhand I cannot think of any...  [FAQ = Frequently
Asked Questions]

>- (I've seen this in the IBM archives - not sure if it applies to Macs)
>Will I ever encounter Mac files with .tar extensions?  And if so, what do
>I need to handle THAT?

    "tar" is the UNIX tape archive program.  tar also handles normal (disk)
files as well.  I think that there is a tar program for the mac, but you'd
be better off using tar from a UNIX box.  You shouldn't have to worry about
using tar on the mac, and I am sure that no mac archives are distributed in
this format.

>=-=-= David =-=-=

    Mark.


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             Mark Johnston         | |    markkj@muse.cs.mu.oz.au
         Software Engineering      | |    markkj@munagin.ee.mu.oz.au
         Melbourne University      | |    markkj@mundil.cs.mu.oz.au
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