Subject: Could we use gunzip -c instead of zcat?

From: Yves Arrouye <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 23:16:14 +0200

Hello,

I'd like to suggest that scripts, debian.rules etc... use gunzip -c instead
of zcat when the intent is to get the contents of a gzipped file on stdout.
This is because if binaries from a BSD compress package (not necessarily
built with compress-package) will make a true zcat available on the system,
which of course cannot handle gzipped files.
  IMO, zcat means `cat a compressed (.Z) file', because that's what it
does for years. The fact that /bin/zcat on Debian systems also handle
gzipped files is a convenience for the user, but in no case guarantee
scripts that the first available zcat in $PATH will be able to do so
(and again zcat is not the best name for such a command due to historic
heritage).

Is this something unreasonable to ask?

Yves.

---

From: "Brian C. White" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 07 Aug 1996 01:14:28 -0400

> which of course cannot handle gzipped files.

Calling "gzip -dc" would be an even better solution.

                                        Brian
                               ( [email-masked] )

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In theory, theory and practice are the same.  In practice, they're
not.

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 96 09:33 EDT

Yves Arrouye writes:
  Yves>  Hello, I'd like to suggest that scripts, debian.rules etc... use
  Yves> gunzip -c instead of zcat when the intent is to get the contents of a
  Yves> gzipped file on stdout.

No way.

  Yves>   This is because if binaries from a BSD compress package (not
  Yves> necessarily built with compress-package) will make a true zcat
  Yves> available on the system, which of course cannot handle gzipped files.

That's why we should not do this. Gzip's zcat supersedes and replaces
compress' zcat as it deals with both compression formats. compress' zcat can
only uncompressed compressed files, but not gzipped ones.  Why should we
cripple our system? 

Come on, Yves, it's a historic fact: compress is dead. As proprietary
standards should be. No reason a GNU/Linux system should try to change this.

We have (gzip's) zcat and gunzip to deal with it's dead bodies. And maybe
your compress installer to create a few more skeletons though I still don't
know why we need this.

--
Dirk Eddelb"uttel                             http://qed.econ.queensu.ca/~edd