The Datafile PD-CD 4/DATAFILE_PDCD4.iso/utilities/utilsd/dicottery/Dicottery/!Help

Text File | 1996-04-29 | 10.0 KB | 227 lines

!Help for !Dicottery v3.04

What is Dicottery?
------------------

The most important question first, eh?  Well, I had been getting really sick
of the fact that every time I downloaded anything off the internet, I had to
work out which decompressor to use, and then decompress it.  This often took
several attempts, sometimes crashed the computer and ALWAYS took a long
time.  I therefore decided to alleviate this problem, and have written
Dicottery.

Dicottery is another compression program, but one different from the others
because you won't need to hunt around for the right decompressor for its
archives, since the archives decompress themselves!  The 'Dicottery SEA's
(Self-Extracting Archives) will run as any other program, with a simple
double-click, and will supply a save box for you to decide where to
decompress the file, application or directory to.

Self-extracting archives are not a new idea by any means.  Probably the most
famous on the Acorn scene is the BASIC file on Acorn's ftp area which
produces a copy of !SparkPlug in your current directory when it's run.
However, I have managed to add a few extra features, the best of which is
drag-and-drop decompression.  Quite simply, when a Dicottery SEA is loaded,
it initialises itself as a wimp application, and pops up a save box,
enabling you to decide where to put the decompressed data.



How to use Dicottery
--------------------

There are two main ways of compressing things with Dicottery: you may either
use the !Dicottery application, or the Dicottery utility.  The two different
methods are supplied so that the user has an easy and user-friendly way of
using Dicottery (the application) and so that other applications can use
Dicottery as a * command (the utility).

Using the application
- - - - - - - - - - -
The application initialises as any other, and places an icon on the icon
bar.  You can access the menu from here, and view my wonderful Info box, and
also set or unset the 'Faster' option (this works like the filer windows'
faster option), and even Quit from it if you really want to.  To compress
something, simply drag a directory, application etc onto the ibi (icon bar
icon) and drag the file thingy off the save box and onto a filer window or
whatever.  After a brief amount of clicking (Dicottery is determining the
size of what you want compressed) a window will appear showing Dicottery's
progress as a green slider bar.  It also shows the item you're compressing
and what file it's being compressed to at the top, and a picture of the
application or file's icon at the top-left.  Lower down there is another
display field which shows the file that Dicottery is handling at the moment
ONLY if the Faster option is NOT selected.  And, of course, there are the
'Abort' and 'Pause' buttons.

If you try to compress something else while Dicottery is still compressing
something, a save box will appear again, and when you drag off the SEA, it
actually loads a second copy of Dicottery.  I'm sorry this happens, since it
should really be the same program handling both, but at the moment, the
Dicottery compression code is written recursively, which makes it nearly
impossible to get the same application to do both compression tasks at once.

However, you don't really need to worry about this second copy of Dicottery
loading, since it doesn't create an ibi and automatically quits as soon as
it's finished.  So really, you need never know that there are two copies of
Dicottery loaded unless you look in the Task Manager window.

Using the Utility
- - - - - - - - -
The Dicottery utility is provided mainly for programmers, but can also, of
course, be used by someone using the OSCLI, or from an Obey file etc etc.
It is a bit quicker than the application, since it doesn't have to multitask
or redraw any windows.  However, it lacks the functionality of the
application, since you cannot pause it, it doesn't multitask and you can
only have one compression task going at once.

In its normal mode, the utility will use the hourglass to display the
percentage of the file sizes which have been compressed (calculated the same
way as is the application's slider bar), but this can be switched off.
Switching this option off does not affect the speed of the program when it
is compressing things, but it doesn't bother to find out the full size of
the data you are compressing, which for large directory structures saves
quite a bit of time, and especially so on floppy discs.  The full syntax for
using the Dicottery utility is as follows:

*Dicottery [-faster] input_object output_filename

Please note that the -faster option, if present, must be before the input
and output objects.  I am VERY SORRY about this - it will be sorted out soon
- but it's due to me having little experience with SWI"OS_ReadArgs".  I will
have a look at the PRMs about it soon, but until then, I'm afraid this
horrible lapse in programming will have to stay.

Using a Dicottery SEA
- - - - - - - - - - -
This is by far the simplest part of Dicottery to use.  It has deliberately
been made easy so that anyone with some knowledge about Acorn machines (ie
how to use save boxes, how to run a program etc) will be able to use it
quickly and easily.

To load a Dicottery SEA into memory, simply make sure it's filetype is
Absolute (&FF8) and double-click on it.  A nearly-standard save box will
appear, containing a display icon showing the name of the compressed item,
and a file icon, showing either a filetype or a 'directory' or 'application'
sprite.  Applications' own sprites are not used, since if you're
decompressing an application, the chances are that your computer hasn't seen
it before, in which case no sprite will appear at all.  Note that you cannot
change the name in the display icon.  This is partly because it would add to
the size of the Dicottery SEAs, and partly because with applications this
isn't a good idea, since you'd get no icon in the filer windows.

To decompress the object, all you do is to drag the sprite icon from the
window and onto a filer window.  The Dicottery SEA will then decompress to
the relevant position, and will quit immediately afterwards.  If you change
your mind and decide not to decompress the object, simply click on the close
icon of the window and the application will terminate.  Please read the
'know bugs and problems' section, since there's something else you should
know.


Copyright
---------

I hold all copyright to Dicottery (both the application and utility), the
Dicottery SEA and all documentation supplied with them.  I reserve the right
to do anything I like relating to the Dicottery package.  Dicottery (this
refers the the entire package in this section) is freeware, and no charge
can be made for the package other than a small and reasonable charge for
postage, packing and handling by pd libraries and the like.  It is illegal
to either distribute Dicottery incomplete or to distribute it as part of any
other package (commercial or not) without my express permission.  If you're
going to put Dicottery on a CD-ROM, cover disc etc, please contact me for
the latest version (or look at my web page - it'll be on there).

I can also not be held responsible for any damaged caused by Dicottery, or
your use or misuse of it.

If you've ever written a !Help file, you'll know that copyright sections are
the worst parts to write.  Though I say I'm not responsible for any damage
caused by Dicottery, if Dicottery has a bug which does nasty things (or any
bug for that matter), please complain bitterly to me about it.  After all, I
DID write it, and if anything goes wrong, while legally I can't be sued
(it's provided as-is BTW), morally I am in the wrong.  I recognise this, and
promise to do anything I can to rectify problems.  However, don't sue me,
because I'm a student, and simply can't afford it.


Contacting me
-------------

I can be contacted in many ways.  The first is email, which I prefer to
normal mail - it's so much quicker and cheaper!

[e-mail]    ( or [e-mail] )

snail mail is ok though, though please include an SAE (and a disc if you
want a new version of Dicottery) if you want a reply - money's a bit tight,
I'm afraid.

Phil Norman,
1 Claredale Road,
Exmouth,
Devon.
EX8 2EE
England

You could look at my web page for new versions of Dicottery:

http://newton.ex.ac.uk/general/ug/norman

( http://newton.ex.ac.uk/general/ug/norman/apps/dicot is the Dicottery
related section)

You can also sometimes find me on IRC, the talkers 'Oaktree' and 'Jumper',
or a MUD called Xania.  I'll be under the name 'Forrey'.

Please contact me if you have bug lists, suggestions for upgrades or new
software, comments, criticism, money ;-) or anything else you can think of.



Thanks
------

There are, as always, people who have helped with the program, and deserve
thanks.  Thankyou to ALL the people who have helped me.

Thanks must go to the following people:

Thankyou the Moog (Matthew Godbolt) for the decompression routine included
on board all Dicottery SEAs - it's TWICE as fast as ArcFS decompression!
Also thanks for the idea of having an hourglass thingy.

Thankyou Gerph (#acorn) for the idea of a Dicottery utility which can be
called from the command line, and so bound to a key in various text editors
etc.

Thankyou doormouse (#acorn) for being the first one to suggest a wimp front-
end for the SEAs.

Thankyou Andy Page, for comments, complaints, suggestions etc.

Thankyou Jonix (#acorn) for finding bugs.

Thankyou all those at channel #acorn on IRC for ideas, on-line debugging and
general enthusiasm and support.

Thankyou John Kortink for the LZW module, which I am using at the moment
to compress the SEAs.

Thankyou Phil Norman (Me!) for actually writing the thing!

Thankyou to whoever discovered you could make a drink out of coffee beans.

Thankyou to Acorn for making such amazing computers.

Thankyou to various music artists (those still known as what they were
previously known as).

Thankyou to God (whichever) / big bang / chaos theory for the Earth - it
really is quite a nice place.

Thankyou to the inhabitants of said planet for not completely wrecking it
quite yet, and for at least having enough of a conscience to pretend they
don't want to.