Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!pacbell!ames!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!itsgw!steinmetz!uunet!dalcs!dalcsug!euloth
From: euloth@dalcsug.UUCP (George Seto)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: AlfCrunch archiving utility
Summary: Compatibility with ARC and other systems
Message-ID: <509@dalcsug.UUCP>
Date: 10 Jul 88 02:07:21 GMT
References: <7012@cup.portal.com>
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Lines: 52

In article <7012@cup.portal.com>, fireplace@cup.portal.com writes:
> The following is an ARC'd file containing AlfUnCrunch (DZ), AlfCrunch (LZ)
> and documentation.  Are you sick of the horrible speed and bugs of ARC?
> AlfCrunch is a lightning fast machine language compression/archive utility
> that incorporates the Lempel-Ziv compression algorithm.  It is much more
> efficient than ARC and the speed is stunning.  It is clearly the sucessor
> to ARC on the Atari 8-bit series.  ENJOY!
> 
> --Ron   fireplace@cup.portal.com              "I'm not an actor,
>         sun!portal!cup.portal.com!fireplace    but I play one on television."
 
 We have tried this and it is as it says VERY fast and much more compressed.
Here are the results we found : First is some timing in minutes and secs:

             ARC    ALFCRUNCH

 TIME TO DECOMPRESS
 SCREEN ON  5'50"     1'53"
SCREEN OFF  4'30"     1'50"

 TIME TO COMPRESS
 SCREEN ON  4'49"     1'47"
SCREEN OFF  3'50"     1'35"

 FILESIZE in Sectors  
    ACTUAL   231       231
COMPRESSED   143       114

=============================
 ARC12.COM 93  ACRX12.COM 88

 DZ.COM    27   LZ.COM    24


After this was tested on the 8 bit, the docs were separated and ALF'd into
its' own file. It was successfully dearc'd with the ST's UNARC.TTP which is
compatible with the latest compression routines found in the PKARC method found
on the IBM and the B version of ARC 5.21 for the ST and IBM. I haven't tried
the ARC 5.21B on my ST but will do so in the next day or so. Maybe we will 
have something else to relate. For now it seems possible that the 8 bit
Atari computers now have a FAST compression method which is still compatible
with files available on the other Atari and the IBM machines.

The above results were tested by Bruce Fortier and myself of the NSACUG
which is the Nova Scotia Atari Computer Users group. Bruce did the tests
on his 8 bit and I tested the ALF'd file on my 520ST system.

-- 
*******************************************************************************
* euloth@dalcsug.uucp  || Disclaimer: All opinions are my own unless other-   *
* /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ||             wise noted.			      *
****AKA: Atari Nut*************************************************************