Date   : Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:30:08 +0200
From   : rick@... (Rick Murray)
Subject: Finding file information from .zips

Firth,MJC,Michael,DMJ R wrote:

[ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is this a fault in my mail software or 
intentional? ]


> I agree it would be simpler if PCs, Unix and MacOS could natively
> understand BBC/RiscOS file information, but they don't.

I guess it is something of an irony that, using Windows (XP) as my main 
platform now, I have to fire up RedSquirrel to make the TAR archives for 
my website updates.

Have I found software that will zip with paths from a RELATIVE path? 
Nope! WinZip's "include paths" starts from the root.

Have I found software that has a concept of file permissions slightly 
better than DOS-like "RASH" attributes? Nope!

So I make an uncompressed Zip file using WinZip, fire up RedSquirrel, 
then make the TAR properly using SparkFS.


I did start to write an explorer-like TAR file proggy, but gave up when 
finding Explorer, VB, and the API seemed to contradict each other and 
drag'n'drop was simply not going to work usefully (I'd have liked to 
allow the user to drag non-existant files to get a destination, at which 
point the files would be extracted; the closest I got was at the start 
of the drag to unpack the selected files and use those as the source... 
which is a pretty silly way of doing it).


Problem is, Acorn systems use a lot of metadata. Most of the mainstream 
platforms rely on a named file extension and documented/rigid 
specifications (like an .EXE needs a complicated header, a .COM must 
have the paging registers all the same...); there's nothing as flexible 
as "load it here and execute it here", though it is worth pointing out 
that RISC OS abandoned the load/exec in favour of known filetypes, such 
as "Absolute" and "Utility" which aren't so different to EXE and COM 
(only much nicer :-) ).


> Unfortunately RiscOS seems to be a dying platform

I think we'd all prefer a term such as "legacy platform". :-) Certainly 
the use of RISC OS is diminishing, but that doesn't mean it'll vanish 
completely. I am toying with the idea, when my LiveBox finally arrives, 
of maybe running a little server (WebJames) on one of my machines, to be 
accessed via something like DynDNS ... possibly the RiscPC if I take out 
most of the unnecessary hardware (like the 486 co-pro!).
It'll be the most unhackable system EVER - for I'll write the logfiles 
to null: and hold the content itself on a CF card (via one of those 
CF<>IDE thingies) and if there is some way of write protecting, either 
on the card or the interface, I'll do that [thinks: doesn't the IDEFS 
software do write protection?]. Let's see somebody stick unwanted 
IFrames on THAT! :-)

This is one of the times where a lack of virtual memory is a good thing, 
for it is viable to have only a single 'drive' that is write protected. 
Try that on anything Microsoft. I can't say how Linux, Ubuntu, et al 
would react.


> I think it is unlikely that many people would move to it for Internet
 > use if it isn't already their main platform.

This may have more to do with the lack of useful software than any 
specific commentary on the platform. People want to 'instant message', 
stare at YouTube, visit their bank through half a tonne of Java and 
security, and turn into zombies when they least expect it. How much of 
this can you do EASILY on RISC OS? There's the problem.


I don't know who, for my memory for names is really dreadful, but I 
recall reading only a short time ago that somebody still used their Beeb 
for email. Now there's dedication for you!


Best wishes,

Rick.

-- 
Rick Murray, irregular internet access at local library.
BBC B: DNFS, 2 x 5.25" floppies, EPROM prog, Acorn TTX
E01S FileStore, A3000/A5000/RiscPC/various PCs/blahblah...