Simple, Effective Compression
Easy-BZ is a compression tool which allows extremely tight compression and quick decompression. Based on the BZip2 standard and optimized for the Macintosh platform, an easy-to-use, effective BZip2 compressor has finally been brought to the Mac OS.
Easy-BZ takes advantage of the latest advantages of the Mac OS 8. Its user interface is designed entirely around the new Appearance Manager, and it supports Navigation Services if installed. If you don't have the Appearance Manager installed, you can download it directly from the Easy-BZ web site.
If you like Easy-BZ, try Easy-GZ! It is a GZip compression program with an interface similar to Easy-BZ. Check http://www.komkon.org/~stiles/easy-gz/ for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
* Can I use Easy-BZ to compress my applications?
- Currently, no. The BZip2 format is limited to data
files only; it is unable to parse information in the
resource fork of a file (where Mac OS-specific information
is stored). If you try to compress a file with Easy-BZ
that contains a resource fork, the resource information
will be discarded-this would make normal Mac OS applications
unusable. However, almost all data files are fully
BZ-compressible. (A future version of Easy-BZ may attempt
to address this limitation.)
* Easy-BZ won't start; it wants "AppearanceLib."
- Easy-BZ is very reliant on the newest features of
Mac OS 8. It uses the Appearance Manager to improve
the look and feel of the Mac OS interface. You can
download this extension from the Easy-BZ web site;
install it and restart to get Easy-BZ to run.
* I transferred an Easy-BZ file over the Internet, and
when others decompress it, it comes out as a generic
"document" icon instead of the proper kind
of file.
- Easy-BZ currently stores Mac OS type/creator information
in the comments field of a file. Several popular utilities
fail to retain the comments field when transferring
files over the Internet-for example, Hotline will replace
the comments field with the name of the server that
the file was downloaded from. The type/creator can
be easily restored with any decent file editing utility-if
you are looking for one, I highly recommend "FileBuddy."
About the Author
Easy-BZ was written by John Stiles, who also maintains a web site called emulation.net and ports several emulators to the Macintosh. Easy-GZ was originally designed as a ROM compression tool for emulators, but quickly grew in scope as the project progressed.
Easy-BZ is freeware; please distribute it however you wish.
Version History
* 1.0:
- Initial release.
Easy-BZ is Copyright ©1999 John Stiles. There is
no warranty, express or implied-although I am unaware
of any incident in which Easy-BZ caused data loss,
you use Easy-BZ entirely at your own risk.
This page was created using TextToHTML. TextToHTML is a free software for Macintosh and is (c) 1995,1996 by Kris Coppieters