On Thu, 27 Dec 2002, 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.
ya, also, "tiny" and "large" are relative
I think the gain would depend on the situation; negative in the case
of nothing but small live files, huge for archives of large files.
Is one group more important than the other?
> 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.
>
> 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?
Making compressed the default is raising the bar wrt systems LyX is
usable with, for no clear benefit. An old slow box can probably get a
new HD, cheap, but it is a lot tougher to cope with running out of CPU
cycles, memory, or patience...
I would love to see LyX transparently handle *.lyx.{gz,bz2,zip,?} or
*.ly{g,b,z,?} (respectively), but it should be up to the user to
determine what the default behaviour will be.
Maybe system and user preference options like `default compression
method', `enable automatic (re)compression', `compressed file suffix
style (force it or not)', ..., along with a `save as compressed' menu
item or [none, gzip, bzip, zip, ?], etc. radio buttons in a `save
file' dialog, eh.
- Bruce
