Category : Recently Uploaded Files
Archive   : ZPRO218.ZIP
Filename : TRIPLE.HOW

How can ZIP'R Pro triple hard disk space?

Most of the "on-the-fly" compression programs claim to be able to double your
hard disk space. My experience has been that these programs are only able to
achieve a compression ratio of 1.5 - 1.8 to 1, not the 2 to 1 ratio they
promise. The required compression device driver, which consumes 40K-50K of
valuable base or high RAM, is also a nuisance. ZIP'R Pro is able to achieve
much higher compression ratios by combining the compression capabilities of
existing archiving utilities with the space-savings of drastically reduced
waste due to allocation unit slack space. My tests indicate that the
combination of ZIP'R Pro and PKZIP v2.04g can compress programs by three
times, effectively tripling hard drive capacity!

The following chart contains information regarding the performance of ZIP'R
Pro when used on various programs. For the most part, these programs are
currently in use in my business, and contain the usual amount of data files
one would expect of a small business. Some programs were installed for a
short time solely to check the effectiveness of ZIP'R Pro. Since data files
normally compress better than program files, the "real-world" compression
ratios for these programs should be better than these tests indicate.

For purposes of this test, all programs to be tested were placed on a Novell
2.2 file server. This file server was equipped with a 245MEG hard drive,
which was divided into 4096 byte allocation units (clusters).

Prior to compression, the number of files and sub-directories comprising the
program was calculated using the "Info" feature of QuikMenu III. The size of
the entire program, including any sub-directories, was calculated using the
same method. The number of files and sub-directories is contained in the
"Files" column of the the chart. The size of the program and its sub-
directories is contained in the "Normal Program / DOS Size" column of the
chart. Then, Novell's NDIR /SUB command was used to determine the actual
amount of disk space consumed by the program and its sub-directories when
allocation units were considered. This figure is contained in the "Normal
Program / Disk Size" column of the chart.

The program was then compressed with PKZIP v2.04g, using the default
compression method. (All files and sub-directories were included in the .ZIP
file, and deleted using the "m -rp" command-line switches.) The size of the
compressed file was then calculated using QuikMenu III, and appears in the
"Compressed Program / DOS Size" column of the chart. NDIR was used to
determine the actual amount of disk space consumed by the compressed program
when allocation units were considered, and this figure appears in the
"Compressed Program / Disk Size" column of the chart.

The DOS Size of the uncompressed program was divided by the DOS Size of the
compressed program, and this figure appears in the "DOS Ratio" column of the
chart. The Disk Size of the uncompressed program was divided by the Disk Size
of the compressed program, and this figure appears in the "Disk Ratio" column
of the chart.

The "Disk Ratio" indicates the amount of compression achieved by ZIP'R / PKZIP
when allocation units are considered. This is an accurate reflection of the
hard disk space-savings that can be expected for that particular program.









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Normal Program Compressed Program DOS Disk
Files DOS Size Disk Size Files DOS Size Disk Size Ratio Ratio
----- ----------- ----------- ----- ----------- ---------- ----- -----
Borland Pascal v7.0
964 28,657,637 31,002,624 1 13,007,443 13,012,992 2.2:1 2.4:1

DacEasy Accounting v4.3
259 14,818,049 15,253,504 1 2,369,230 2,371,584 6.3:1 6.4:1

Generic CADD v6.0
813 12,162,813 14,426,112 1 3,701,975 3,702,784 3.3:1 3.9:1

Ingram Micro Electronic Price Guide
28 8,637,889 8,691,712 1 1,728,944 1,732,608 5.0:1 5.0:1

Labels Unlimited v3.0
98 1,670,794 1,916,928 1 664,166 667,648 2.5:1 2.9:1

Professional Write v2.22
70 3,290,442 3,440,640 1 1,478,570 1,478,656 2.2:1 2.3:1

QuickBASIC v4.5
72 1,512,253 1,695,744 1 997,639 1,003,520 1.5:1 1.7:1

Rolodex Live! v2.0
42 1,797,191 1,871,872 1 480,257 483,328 3.7:1 3.9:1

SHEZ v8.9
34 711,902 794,624 1 299,670 303,104 2.4:1 2.6:1

Stowaway v1.91
62 1,938,041 2,097,152 1 697,265 700,416 2.8:1 3.0:1

Tech Data Electronic Price Guide
8 4,309,617 4,329,472 1 1,236,068 1,236,992 3.5:1 3.5:1

Turbo C/C++ v3.0
368 7,931,397 8,863,744 1 3,031,940 3,039,232 2.6:1 2.9:1
----- ----------- ----------- ----- ----------- ---------- ----- -----
Total 87,438,025 94,384,128 Total 29,693,167 29,732,864 2.9:1 3.2:1
===== =========== =========== ===== =========== ========== ===== =====























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