This FTP implementation supports these automatic conversions: somefile plain somefile.Z Unix compress somefile.gz Gnuzip somefile.tar for directories somefile.tar.Z tar+compress somefile.tar.gz tar+Gnuzip Examples: --------------------------------------------------------------------- This file, which is compressed -rw-r--r-- 1 bob dp 4705 Jan 17 23:40 Knights.Z will be uncompressed if requested by "GET Knights" --use ASCII mode. NOTE: This is useful when you have no convenient way to decompress or unzip etext files. --------------------------------------------------------------------- This file -rw-r--r-- 1 bob dp 8650 Jan 17 23:40 Knights will be Gnuzipped if requested by "GET Knights.gz" --use BINARY mode. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Entire sub-trees can be retrieved as tar archives: drwxrwsr-x 2 etext etext 1024 Mar 29 21:15 Z drwxrwsr-x 2 etext etext 1024 Mar 29 21:15 zip "GET Z.tar" delivers an archive of everything below Z --use BINARY mode. --------------------------------------------------------------------- About "bahai.tar" ================== In most cases, this is not what you really want. This archive is twice as large as all the unique etext files, because they are provided in both .zip and .Z (unix compress) format. Consider going to bahai/file-types and using "GET Z.tar" or "GET zip.tar" to collect everything in one or the other format. Extensive use has been made of symbolic links to provide different views of the etext files below "bahai". This is for the convenience of those who are browsing, or looking for a specific work. Automatic tar conversions are configured to follow symbolic links, in other words, to archive the target file to which a symlink points. Usually this is what is wanted --for example, "all the zip files". An automatic tar archive from the top level would result in redundant copies of the every file --one for each link. The file "bahai.tar" is a mirror of the whole tree below "bahai" with the symlinks stored as links. {~ Most files under "bahai" are already compressed, bahai.tar.Z and bahai.tar.gz are 0 length placeholders; unix compress and gnuzip refuse to compress bahai.tar because the result would be larger. -- For any questions about this facility please contact: Etext Account Manager etext@bwc.org.il (16 February 1997) (30 September 1999: REVIEWED - added name of account manager) --