The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

Scott Gibbons wrote:
> 
> >I'm about to lost my freaking mind trying to zip some patches so that
> >I can upload them on to the site. Any suggestions on easiest way to
> >zip an AN file? I'm new to zipping files. Thanks.
> 
> After having some nightmarish experiences at work last week with compressed
> files (yeah, you DO run the risk of losing data when you compress files -
> that's what compression does!) I gotta wonder why we're compressing these
> files anyway. They're not that big, so what's the deal?

Obviously it saves storage space which permits us to maximize the
quantity of files we store in our 20 MB allocation.  We don't *have* to
compress the files but keep in mind it also reduces the amount of time
necessary to perform a download.  Many of us here in the U.S. probably
pay a flat fee for for our ISP that permits for unlimited connection
times so it's no big deal.  However, many of our European counterparts
pay by the minute.  In their case I'm sure they would rather download a
file that had been compressed than uncompressed.

I also wonder about
> using the ZIP protocol since that's a compression designed for Windows. Any
> kind of raw sysex file would be cross-platform.... er, I guess it would
> more accurately be "not platform-specific."

Raw SysEx is fine for me and probably many others but .an1 format is
fairly established as the format for AN1x Voices.  After all, the
application is stable, free, and widely used by the AN1x Community.  I
doubt anyone will mind if you'd rather upload your files as .mid or .syx
so long as it is documented as such. :-)

Regarding the .zip format.  Well, most Macintosh users have Stuffit
Expander installed on their Mac by default which readily accommodates
uncompressing Zip files.  Although DropStuff does not accommodate .zip
compression Stuffit Deluxe does. Furthermore, ZipIt - a fine little
shareware program - also accommodates .zip on the Mac.  That said, .sit is
the standard for Mac users - not .zip.  Aladdin makes a freeware Stuffit
Expander for Windows that is readily available.  Either format can be
accommodate by users of Mac's or Windows with little fuss.  Since there
are more Windows users than Mac user it's not much of a debate which
format is more common.  The only files I've posted as .sit are *Mac
specific* applications.  Win users aren't going to run these anyway so
it's no big deal.

As for data loss - you are correct in that it is always a concern.  In
my experience though compressed Audio files are more susceptible to data
loss than SysEx files.  In the past 18 months I've posted and downloaded
.an1 voices I've yet to encounter a significant error with any .an1 file
that has been Zipped or Stuffed.  Oh, wait a minute - that's not
entirely tru.  I have .mid file from Yamaha - the 'Wired' voice set for
sale from Yamaha UK - that doesn't load to the AN1x without Checksum
errors.  That's really about the only glitch I've seen.

If their is a majority opinion on the list NOT to use compression by all
means that's fine.  Keep in mind that we will need to sacrifice some of
the files in our files section to accommodate the larger growth.

IMO, it's not worth giving up the benefits of compressed files for fear
of potential data loss.

Regards,
Jon

-- 
http://www.jdlx-musique.com/