On Fri, Dec 27, 2002 at 07:35:07AM +1030, Darren Freeman spake thusly: > On Sun, 2002-12-22 at 00:27, John Levon wrote: > > On Sat, Dec 21, 2002 at 10:51:42PM +1030, Darren Freeman wrote:
... > > > So I would say this: apart from obvious shortening of bloated symbols, > > > leave them readable (and compatible!). As long as gzipping becomes the > > > standard, that's a good thing since it's a tiny penalty for a large > > > gain. > > > > Frankly, I consider it a hack. > > Why? Are we concerned with the size of a gzipped file or the original?? > > What is the goal? > > The representation of the user's data is the goal, as I see it. Please consider that even if we store the tables in gzipped form, they will be unzipped before use and handling, even if only in memory. This makes the unzipped file size relevant from a performance viewpoint. I could think of other situations where we want the unzipped version actually on disk. Having the option of something that is both legible and compact -- as we have had so far with LyX -- is a strong point that I am loath to give up without a fight :-) > We can come up with some ultra-optimised code that only LyX can read, in > which the information rate is nearly optimal. Or we can make it more > readable like a normal text file, but let the information rate go much > lower, like 5 %. > > Fortunately this thing called source coding allows us to do both: create > an easy to read text file, then store it with an efficiency close to 100 > %. It's not a hack at all, it's called information theory. I see no > reason not to use it here. It's just like creating a water-tight file > format which can be converted to human-readable form, only done the > other way around. > > Create a human readable form and then compress it into a water tight > format. This format can then be manipulated using standard tools, like > gunzip and a text editor. What could be more elegant? It's fine... but not as a substitute for doing a reasonably effective job in the first place (yes, even if that would slightly inflate the .gz file!). Remember also that a needlessly bloated text file format is a pain to work with, or even just read, in an editor too. I don't quite buy this class of arguments that Moore's Law will obsolesce the art of efficient coding... > > john > > Have fun, and merry xmas, > Darren A Happy Newyear! Martin
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