<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9"> <TITLE>Saving Space mini-HOWTO : Software requirements</TITLE> <LINK HREF="Saving-Space-3.html" REL=next> <LINK HREF="Saving-Space-1.html" REL=previous> <LINK HREF="Saving-Space.html#toc2" REL=contents> </HEAD> <BODY> <A HREF="Saving-Space-3.html">Next</A> <A HREF="Saving-Space-1.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="Saving-Space.html#toc2">Contents</A> <HR> <H2><A NAME="s2">2. Software requirements</A></H2> <P> <P>You need: <P> <UL> <LI> a fully working Linux system (any version should be OK); </LI> <LI> the common <CODE>gzip</CODE> compression utility, or alternatively <CODE>bzip2</CODE> that you find on <A HREF="ftp://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/utils/compress">ftp://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/utils/compress</A>; this tool compresses better than <CODE>gzip</CODE>, but it's also a wee bit slower and consumes a lot of memory; </LI> <LI> the <CODE>upx</CODE> executable compressor, whose home page is at <A HREF="http://cdata.tvnet.hu/~ml/upx.html">http://cdata.tvnet.hu/~ml/upx.html</A> and <A HREF="http://wildsau.idv.uni-linz.ac.at/mfx/upx.html">http://wildsau.idv.uni-linz.ac.at/mfx/upx.html</A>; </LI> <LI> the <CODE>zlibc</CODE> package, available on <A HREF="ftp://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/libs/compression">ftp://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/libs/compression</A>. It's called <CODE>zlibc-X.X.tar.gz</CODE>, where <CODE>X.X</CODE> is the latest version. </LI> </UL> <P>There are other executable compressors. One is <CODE>gzexe</CODE> (forget it), while <CODE>tcx</CODE> was probably the best before <CODE>upx</CODE> became available; yet another is <CODE>tzx</CODE>, in theory better than <CODE>tcx</CODE>. The thing is, it screwed everything up when I tried it on a spare PC, though I'm not sure if I did something wrong. You had better stick with <CODE>upx</CODE>: it's reliable, efficient, and very handy. <P>There are kernel patches that provide transparent file system compression a la Stacker, but as of this writing none of them has yet a reputation for stability and reliability. For safety's sake, steer clear. <P> <P> <HR> <A HREF="Saving-Space-3.html">Next</A> <A HREF="Saving-Space-1.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="Saving-Space.html#toc2">Contents</A> </BODY> </HTML>