Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!NIHCU.BITNET!JDA
From: JDA@NIHCU.BITNET (Doug Ashbrook)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re:  Possible Executioner replacement...
Message-ID: <8805311708.aa19483@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA>
Date: 31 May 88 20:16:59 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 25

> Yes, one is going to need binscii to un-convert files. Not a real hardship,
> I'll distribute binscii in executioner format. eventually, it will replace
> executioner. Those who don't have it could send me mail, and i'll send them a
> copy.

I think that this means that BINSCII format would have a very serious
disadvantage over EXECUTIONER format.  One of the nice things about
EXECUTIONER format is that you do not need to have the EXECUTIONER
program just to unpack a file.  However, if I receive a file in
BINSCII format, I must first have the BINSCII program before I can
unpack the file.  Maybe once BINSCII becomes as popular as BLU,
everyone will have a copy of BINSCII and this will be a moot point.
But until then, it will not be nearly as convenient.  Maybe the
additional compression (while avoiding the ASCII-EBCDIC translation
problems) will make it all worthwhile.  I will keep my fingers
crossed.

Give some consideration to whether you could design the BINSCII files
so that they could unpack themselves (as EXECUTIONER files can do).
That sounds like a good challenge for a bright student :-)

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J. Douglas Ashbrook                                  (301) 496-5181
BITNET: JDA@NIHCU            ARPA: jda%nihcu.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu
National Institutes of Health, Computer Center,  Bethesda, MD 20892