Suggestion for emu-coders: GZip compression

[Devilmarkus]

Hi together,
as I was searching for CPC-emulators, I found a website for the GP2X emulator.

This emulator uses compressed .SNA files (.SNZ)

These files are GZip compressed.

Now I coded a bit in JavaCPC and found out, that also WAV and DSK files could be easily GZip compressed.
So I decided to create compressed .DSK (.DSZ) and also compressed .WAV tapes (.TAZ)

JavaCPC can read and write these formats.

Now my suggestion is:
Include this feature in other emulators, too...
(Or does this already exist???)

I will attach 3 files as zip:
- cybernoid.snz (compressed 64k snapshot, 27k instead of 64k)
- deathwish3.dsz (compressed dsk, 46k instead of 192k)
- gryzor.taz (compressed WAV tape, 265k instead of 13mb)

Would be great, if other emulators could support these files, too.

Cheers,
Markus

[mahlemiut]

Not really much different from simply putting the relevant file in a ZIP file.  Most emulators support ZIP files, at least for disk images. 

MESS, for example, treats ZIP files as folders, and can be used for all device types (DSK, WAV, CDT, CPR, BIN, SNA).

[Devilmarkus]

Not really much different from simply putting the relevant file in a ZIP file.  Most emulators support ZIP files, at least for disk images. 

MESS, for example, treats ZIP files as folders, and can be used for all device types (DSK, WAV, CDT, CPR, BIN, SNA).

In reading zipped DSK you are right...
But I am talking about writing these media to harddisk.

[Octoate]

In reading zipped DSK you are right...
But I am talking about writing these media to harddisk.

Where is the difference with writing to the DSK Images? You can changes files within a ZIP file, too.

[Devilmarkus]

Where is the difference with writing to the DSK Images? You can changes files within a ZIP file, too.

Sorry, I don't know an emulator writing disc.zip as disk image... ;-)

[Octoate]

Sorry, I don't know an emulator writing disc.zip as disk image... ;-)

That's a question of the implementation of an emulator. If you would allow it, then it is definitively possible to do that. That's why I don't see the advantages of a new compressed file format.
And what about games which contain more than one disk? In a ZIP container, I can combine them - with the compressed DSK you have all those files seperatly on the HDD.

[Gryzor]

Indeed, I tend to agree; it's not about the format, it's about the functionality. When you've got hundreds and hundreds of dsk images, they tend to eat up quite some space needlessly. ZIP, Gzip or RAR would all do...