Mail Archives: djgpp-workers/1999/03/10/08:19:46
> > First, if `-n' is given explicitly, gzip should _not_ put a filename
> > in the gzipped file, whatever happens, e.g. so it could be
> > used to get a really minimal filesize.
> Maybe, but this should be discussed further with the
> maintainers of GZip (and I'm not sure whether they exist
> anymore ;-). The current behavior existed before I did
> the last port: `gzip' overrides -n on DOS if the name of
> the original file cannot be reproduced from the name of
> the compressed file because some of the characters are
> lost (like in the case you presented where file.ext ->
> file.egz loses the two last characters of the extension).
Hmm. So the behaviour of `-n' *should* depend on the
filename, the way it does now.
> Personally, I don't see anything wrong with that, and I wonder
> how 13 more bytes could be a significant change in the file's
> size.
It is more or a philosophical issue: when I say "no filename", I
expect "no filename".
> But anyway, I didn't change this behavior.
I didn't say that. :-)
> > Second, if gzip still does think it has strong reasons to put the
> > original filename in the gzipped file (because the filename gets
> > truncated or whatever), gunzip should also use that filename by
> > default (as if `-N' was used), to be consistent.
> Sorry, I don't see how this can be done. `gzip' always by default
> records the original name, even on non-DOS systems (unless you say
> -n), and it always by default does NOT restore the original name,
> unless you say -N. When `gunzip' sees the name, it cannot possibly
> know that it was recorded ``over the dead body'' of somebody who
> did say -n on DOS. So it has no way of knowing whether to restore
> the original name or not.
I don't know whether it should be implemented this way. Best would
be, IMHO, to obey `-n'. Else, the following could be considered: if
`-n' is used but the filename is still recorded, the timestamp of
the file is not.
It is really not too important to me, but I found the current
behaviour very counter-intuitive. I spent some time until I
discovered `-n' was not obeyed on certain filenames.
I just thought I should report this bug, but now I see it is meant
as a feature...
Groente, Michel.
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