UHARC 0.4 high compression multimedia archiver BETA version
==============================================================================
#### #### #### #### ######## ########### ##########
#### #### #### #### ########## ############ ############
#### #### #### #### #### #### #### #### ####
#### #### ############ ############ ########### ####
#### #### ############ ############ ########### ####
#### #### #### #### #### #### #### #### ####
############ #### #### #### #### #### #### ############
########## #### #### #### #### #### #### ##########
==============================================================================
Copyright(c) 1997-2001 by Uwe Herklotz All rights reserved 28 Dec 2001
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!! THIS IS A BETA VERSION AND MAY CONTAIN BUGS. USE THIS !!!!!!
!!!!!! ARCHIVER AT YOUR OWN RISK. UWE HERKLOTZ, THE AUTHOR OF !!!!!!
!!!!!! UHARC, WILL NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE !!!!!!
!!!!!! CAUSED BY USING OR MISUSING THIS SOFTWARE. !!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
===[ 0. Contents ]============================================================
1. Introduction
2. Usage
2.1. Commands
2.2. Switches
2.3. Environment variable
3. Examples
4. Legal info / Registration
5. Contact info
===[ 1. Introduction ]========================================================
UHARC is a high performance file archiver. This package contains 3 files:
UHARC.EXE program version for Win32 systems
UHARCD.EXE program version for Dos32 systems
UHARC.DOC this documentation file
What's new in version 0.4 ?
- improved compression and new modes (e.g. try "-mx" for PPM mode)
- improved built-in detection/compression of multimedia data types
- support for long filenames (Win32 only)
- encryption of archives
- more archiver options (e.g. attribute filters or exclusion masks)
- display output is written to stdout for better file manager integration
- several bug fixes
Note: UHARC 0.4 archives are NOT compatible with previous versions !
This program will run on any 386 or better computer. Memory requirements
depend on selected compression mode. The number of files in one operation
is only limited by available memory, however current version can't handle
archives with more than 2 GB total unpacked size.
===[ 2. Usage ]===============================================================
Usage: UHARC command [-switch..] archive[.uha] [file..@listfile..!exclude..]
Commands:
~~~~~~~~~
a Create archive/Add files e Extract files to current dir
m Create archive/Move files x Extract files with full path
l List files in archive t Test files in archive
Switches:
~~~~~~~~~
ac[-,+] Clear file archive attr ae[attr] Set attr exclusion mask
b[n] Set max filebuffer size bpb[-,+] bpb instead of % ratio
d[0..2] Set display mode ed[-,+] Store empty directories
idle Set idle process priority lg[file] Log output to [file]
m[0..3,x,z] Set compression mode md[n] Set dictionary size
mm[-,+] MM-detection on/off o[-,+,p] Set overwrite mode
pw[passwd] Set password p[-,r,f] Set path handling
r[-,+] Recurse subdirectories t[dir] Set extract target dir
vm[-,+] Set virtual memory usage y[-,+] Assume yes on all queries
* For commandline help type "UHARC" without any parameter.
* The command character must be placed immediately after "UHARC".
* The switches, if any, must follow the command character. UHARC supports
the use of either "-" or "/" as the switch option character.
* The UHARC archive name must be the first filename on the commandline.
If there is no archive file extension specified, UHARC will add the
default (".UHA") extension.
* After the archive filename come the list of files for the given
operation. One or more files containing a list of files to process
can also be used by prefixing the list's filename with "@". It's
possible to mix filenames and list files in any order. If a filename
on commandline or in a list file has prefix "!", this means it will
be excluded in processing. Allowed delimiters for filenames in list
files are space, tab and newline. Long filenames with spaces must
be enclosed in double-quotes. The line size in list file must not
exceed 4095 characters.
* Filename wildcards are allowed in commandline and in list files,
but not for archive filename. The use of wildcards follow MS-DOS
convention. "*.*" means all files. "*.txt" means all files with an
extension of ".TXT". "?B*.*" means all files with a second character
of "B".
* If there are no files specified at all, all files ("*.*") will be
processed (use "-r" to recurse subdirectories).
---[ 2.1. Commands ]----------------------------------------------------------
a Create archive and add matching files.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If a file with the archive name already exists, UHARC will ask
before overwriting this file, unless you change the default
overwrite mode or use "-y".
Following switches have effect: ac ae b bpb d ed lg m md mm o p pw r y
e Extract matching files to current directory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stored pathnames will be ignored. Using the switch "-t", you can
change the current directory for extracting.
Following switches have effect: b d lg o pw t y
l List matching files in archive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using switch "-y", UHARC will not pause after one page, else you
can use the following keys:
ESCAPE = Cancel (quit program)
TAB = Disable pause
RETURN = Next line
other keys = Next page
Using switch "-d2", filenames are not shortened and more
information are displayed.
Following switches have effect: b bpb d lg pw y
m Create archive and move matching files.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If a file with the archive name already exists, UHARC will ask
before overwriting this file, unless you change the default
overwrite mode or use "-y". If compression was successful, UHARC
will delete matching files on disk (but no directories).
Following switches have effect: ae b bpb d ed lg m md mm o p pw r y
t Test integrity of ALL files in archive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Following switches have effect: b d lg pw y
x Extract matching files with full pathnames.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UHARC will use the pathnames stored in archive for extraction (if
the archive was created with option "-pf", this also includes drive
letters). Using the switch "-t", you can select the root-directory
for all extracted dirs/files.
Following switches have effect: b d lg o pw t y
Note: During all operations it's possible to terminate the process
by pressing ESCAPE and answering the following question with
"Y" (when listing files, there is no additional query).
---[ 2.2. Switches ]----------------------------------------------------------
-ac[-,+] Clear file archive attribute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-ac[+] Clear archive attribute of files store in archive.
-ac- Don't clear archive attribute.
If this option is enabled and compression was successful,
UHARC will clear the archive attribute of all files which
are stored in archive (directories are not affected).
This option has effect with add command only.
DEFAULT: -ac-
-ae[attr] Set attribute exclusion filter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Defines the filter for exclusion based on file attributes.
Files are excluded if specified attributes are set "+" or
cleared "-". File attributes are:
"A" archive attribute
"H" hidden file attribute
"R" read-only attribute
"S" system file attribute
Example: switch "-aeA-H+" means that files with archive
attribute cleared or hidden attribute set are not included
in the processing list.
This option has effect with add or move commands only.
DEFAULT: not specified
-b[n] Set maximum file buffer size (in KB).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After allocating all structures for (de)compression the
remaining memory is used for file buffers, but never more
than [n]. The minimum buffer size is 50 KB.
DEFAULT: -b1024
-bpb[-,+] Show bpb instead of % ratio
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-bpb[+] Show compression ratio in bpb.
-bpb- Show compression ratio in %.
DEFAULT: -bpb-
-d[0..2] Set display mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-d0 Quiet mode (no process information, except queries).
-d1 Display some process information.
-d2 Show more information (file info, verbose listing).
DEFAULT: -d1
-ed[-,+] Store empty directories
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-ed[+] Store also empty directories.
-ed- Don't store empty directories.
This option has effect with add or move commands only.
DEFAULT: -ed-
-idle Set idle process priority (Win32 only)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option forces UHARC to set its process in IDLE priority
class, which means UHARC is executed as background task with
only small effect on normal system operation (assumed there
is enough memory available). This way UHARC can process very
large data sets without blocking the system for long time.
DEFAULT: not specified
-lg[file] Log UHARC output to specified [file].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If UHARC fails to open [file], no log is created (without an
error message). The display mode setting has effect on log,
too.
DEFAULT: no log file
-m[0..3] Set compression mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-m0 Store files without compression.
-m1 Use ALZ:1 (fast) compression mode.
-m2 Use ALZ:2 (norm) compression mode.
-m3 Use ALZ:3 (best) compression mode.
-mx Use PPM compression mode.
-mz Use LZP compression mode.
ALZ uses advanced LZ77 compression algorithm with arithmetic
entropy coder. "-m1" is the fastest ALZ mode, sacrificing
compression ratio to gain better speed. Mode "-m3" achieves
best compression and needs most time. "-m2" is a compromise
ratio/speed and is used as default mode. The decompression
speed is nearly the same for all ALZ modes and it is much
faster than compression.
PPM mode uses an order-4-2-1-0 model with preliminary LZP
pass. In most cases this mode provides the best compression
results.
LZP mode uses the same dictionary compression as in PPM mode
but with much simpler order-1-0 literal model.
There are also two extra modes (may be not supported in
future versions):
-mr Use simple RLE compression.
-mw Use modified LZW compression with selectable
dictionary size.
DEFAULT: -m2
-md[n] Set maximum dictionary size (in KB).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If dictionary is disabled, this setting has no effect.
Valid sizes:
-m1..3,-mx,-mz n = power of 2 from 1 to 32768
-mw n = power of 2 from 1 to 32
A one-character shortcut can be used instead of size number,
e.g. "-mda" instead of "-md1" or "-mdk" instead of "-md1024".
Dictionary size selection:
1. Using option "-md[n]", UHARC will never select a
dictionary size greater than [n]. If "-md[n]" is not
used, UHARC will try to use maximum dictionary (n=4096).
2. If data stream size is smaller than [n], UHARC will use
the smallest dictionary size which is greater than the
data stream.
3. If there is not enough memory for current selection,
UHARC will use the largest dictionary size which is
possible with available memory.
DEFAULT: -md4096
-md[-,+] Disable/enable dictionary-based compression.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This has effect only with modes "-m1", "-m2", "-m3" and "-mx".
-md[+] Enable dictionary-based compression.
-md- Disable dictionary-based compression.
Generally, it's NOT RECOMMENDED to disable dictionary-based
compression. Without dictionary, the compression ratio is
almost always worse. But for some data types (e.g. waveform
sounds or photographic true-color pictures), the compression
isn't affected much by dictionary. Using "-md-" in such cases
will speed up the compression process considerably.
If dictionary-based compression is disabled, there are nearly
no differences between the three modes "-m1", "-m2" and "-m3".
DEFAULT: -md+
-mm[-,+] Disable/enable built-in multimedia detection/compression.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-mm[+] Enable multimedia detection/compression.
-mm- Disable multimedia detection/compression.
UHARC multimedia detection/compression supports many data
types (8/16-bit mono/stereo waveforms, 24-bit true color
pictures and many other types using 8/16/24/32-bit record
sizes). It's also possible to detect multimedia-like data
in other file types (e.g. in executables). Therefore it's
NOT RECOMMENDED to disable multimedia detection/compression
unless the user knows, that there is absolutely no chance
to use multimedia compression (e.g. compressing text only).
DEFAULT: -mm+
-o[-,+,p] Set overwrite mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-op Prompt user before overwriting files.
-o[+] Always overwrite files without asking.
-o- Never overwrite existing files.
Using -op with -y has the same effect as -o[+].
If UHARC shows an overwrite query, the user can select one of
the following options:
"Y" Yes, overwrite current file.
"N" No, don't overwrite current file.
"A" Always Yes, overwrite current file and auto-answer
all following overwrite queries with "Y".
"C" Cancel, don't overwrite and quit process.
DEFAULT: -op
-p[-,r,f] Set path mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-p- Store no paths (exclude paths from names).
-pr Store relative paths.
-pf Store full paths including drive letter.
Using option "-pr", paths are stored in relation with the
current directory of each drive (drive letter isn't stored).
With option "-pf" it's possible to backup data from different
drives into one archive and restore all data correctly.
DEFAULT: -pr
-pw[passwd] Set encryption password
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-pw Request user to enter password.
-pw[s] Use "s" as password.
With switch "-pw" the user is requested to enter the password
twice for safety reasons (input will not be echoed on screen).
DEFAULT: not specified
-r[-,+] Set subdir recursion mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-r[+] Recurse subdirectories.
-r- Don't recurse subdirectories.
If recursion is enabled, matching files are also searched
in all subdirectories (regardless of directory names and
attributes) of all specified directories (commandline and
list files).
DEFAULT: -r-
-t[dir] Set extract target directory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UHARC will store all extracted files in directory [dir].
If [dir] doesn't already exist, UHARC will create it.
Using this option with the "e" command, [dir] will be the
'current directory' for extracting. Using this option with
the "x" command, [dir] will be the root-directory for all
extracted dirs/files.
DEFAULT: not specified
-vm[-,+] Set virtual memory usage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-vm[+] Use virtual memory.
-vm- Don't use virtual memory.
With virtual memory usage enabled UHARC checks free physical
memory at program start and will not use compression modes
that require more memory. Proper work of this option is not
guaranteed if it is used in multitasking systems.
DEFAULT: -vm-
-y[-,+] Set auto-answer mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-y[+] Assume YES on all queries.
-y- Don't auto-answer queries.
Using the option -y[+], all queries, except critical error
messages, don't appear on screen and are auto-answered
with "Y".
DEFAULT: -y-
---[ 2.3. Environment variable ]----------------------------------------------
It's possible to define default options in the environment variable
"UHARC_OPT". Whenever UHARC is executed, it first looks for this
environment variable and parses the values of this variable like
commandline switches. Any arguments in the environment variable
can be overridden on the commandline.
Example:
~~~~~~~~
SET UHARC_OPT=-d2 -p- -lgc:\uharc.log
When UHARC is next executed, it will use verbose display mode,
store no paths and log all outputs to file "C:\UHARC.LOG" by default.
Note: If the environment variable contains a log file switch, it's
not possible to disable log file directly. Use instead the switch
"-lgNUL" on commandline. This overrides the default log file and
write all log outputs to the NUL file (effective no output).
===[ 3. Examples ]============================================================
1. UHARC a archive *.dll @c:\list *.exe
This will compress all "*.DLL", "*.EXE" and the files listed in the file
"C:\LIST" to the archive file "ARCHIVE.UHA" using the default compression
mode.
2. UHARC a -m3 -r -pf -o backup.arc c:\*.ini d:\*.ini c:\*.cfg d:\*.cfg
This will compress all "*.INI" and "*.CFG" files on drives "C:" and "D:"
to the archive file "BACKUP.ARC" using the ALZ:3 compression mode. UHARC
will store full paths including drive letter, so it will be possible
to restore all files on correct drives. If a file named "BACKUP.ARC"
already exists, UHARC will overwrite this file without asking.
3. UHARC m -mz -md64 -mm- -r text c:\text\*.txt
This will move all "*.TXT" files in "C:\TEXT\" and its subdirectories
to archive file "TEXT.UHA" using LZP mode with max 64K dictionary and
without multimedia detection/compression.
4. UHARC l -d2 -lguharc.lst archive a*.doc b*.doc
This will verbosely list all "*.DOC" files with a first character of
"A" or "B" in archive file "ARCHIVE.UHA" and log the output to file
"UHARC.LST".
5. UHARC x -y arc.uha
This will extract all files in archive "ARC.UHA" with full paths. All
queries, except critical error messages, will be auto-answered with YES,
so if one of the files already exists, UHARC will overwrite this file
without asking the user.
6. UHARC e -td:\temp archive readme.txt
This will extract the file "README.TXT" from archive "ARCHIVE.UHA" to
the directory "D:\TEMP\". If this directory doesn't already exist,
UHARC will create it.
7. UHARC e -o- sounds @mysounds.lst
This will extract all files listed in "MYSOUNDS.LST" from archive
"SOUNDS.UHA" to the current directory. UHARC will not overwrite
existing files.
8. UHARC t -d2 -lglog archive
This will test the integrity of all files in archive "ARCHIVE.UHA" and
log the verbose output to file "LOG".
===[ 4. Legal info / Registration ]===========================================
Disclaimer:
~~~~~~~~~~~
Uwe Herklotz, the author of UHARC, disclaims any liability for any damage
caused by using or misusing this software. The author cannot be held
responsible for data loss or other damages and any consequences from this
loss or damages.
!! U S E T H I S P R O G R A M A T Y O U R O W N R I S K !!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This software is Copyright(c) 1997-2001 by Uwe Herklotz. All rights reserved
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The current beta version may be used FOR TESTING AND EVALUATION ONLY.
Therefore I'm NOT asking for registrations. If you like it, then just
send some e-mail.
If you have any problems or questions then please feel free to contact
me at the e-mail address below.
===[ 5. Contact info ]========================================================
If you have any advice, comments, bug reports or requests for info,
you can send e-mail to:
Uwe.Herklotz@gmx.de
or mail to: Uwe Herklotz
Irkutsker Str. 111
09119 Chemnitz
Germany
##############################################################################
UHARC Copyright(c) 1997-2001 by Uwe Herklotz All rights reserved