Compact Pro
Encyclopedia
Compact Pro is a software data compression
utility for archiving and compressing file
s on the Apple Macintosh platform. It was a major competitor to StuffIt
in the early 1990s, producing smaller archives in less time, as well as being distributed via shareware
which greatly helped its popularity. StuffIt 3.0 "fought back" with an even more powerful compression algorithm, a shareware version called StuffIt Lite with most of the same features, including self-extracting archive
creation, and the freeware
StuffIt Expander
which could decompress StuffIt archives and CompactPro archives. Compact Pro maintained a niche among loyal users and as a preparation tool for Cyclos's "Smaller Installer" delivery package (which was notably used by Ambrosia Software
), but disappeared from the market by the late 1990s. It is no longer supported.
Compact Pro sported a clean interface and a variety of features that were not available on contemporary (early 90s) versions of StuffIt. Some of these included the ability to extract everything from an archive by double-clicking on it with the Option key held down, and that Compact Pro recognized and automatically converted BinHex
formatted files back into native format. Compact Pro also featured an easy-to-use system for splitting files into parts to fit on floppy disk
s, a feature that most such systems implemented in an external program, if at all.
Compact Pro also included the ability to produce self-extracting archives. Although this was becoming common in archivers at the time, its particular implementation was notable because the extractor "stub" code was quite small at about 18 kB (compared to StuffIt at 38 kB). In an era of 14400 bit/s modem
s, this was a worthwhile savings. Many considered even this to be too large to bother with, and there were a number of small third-party utilities to strip the stub off from an existing archive. Compact Pro's stub could also expand files that had been split into parts, a rare feature at the time.
Normal archives created with Compact Pro use the .cpt file extension, while self-extracting versions used .sea. File extensions are not normally needed on the Mac, but were commonly used on archives because they would typically be stored on some other system that would normally require them (PCs for instance). These files were generally stored in MacBinary
format on such machines, however, making the extension somewhat superfluous.
Users were able to uncompress Compact Pro archives within MS-Dos/Windows based PCs using the ExtractorPC utility from Sylos. This utility runs in MS-DOS and was helpful as a cross platform tool.
Compact Pro was unequaled by any other compression utility in its preservation of HFS
metadata, such as creation dates, labels, and other data found in the 16 byte long HFileInfo
which HFS associated with each file.
Data compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
utility for archiving and compressing file
Computer file
A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...
s on the Apple Macintosh platform. It was a major competitor to StuffIt
StuffIt
StuffIt is a family of computer software utilities for archiving and compressing files on the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms: it was originally produced for the Macintosh. An old version for Linux and Sun Solaris 2.7 or later is also available...
in the early 1990s, producing smaller archives in less time, as well as being distributed via shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
which greatly helped its popularity. StuffIt 3.0 "fought back" with an even more powerful compression algorithm, a shareware version called StuffIt Lite with most of the same features, including self-extracting archive
Self-extracting archive
A self-extracting archive is a computer application which contains a file archive, as well as programming to extract this information. Such file archives do not require a second executable file or program to extract from the archive, as archive files usually require...
creation, and the freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
StuffIt Expander
StuffIt Expander
StuffIt Expander is a proprietary, freeware, closed source, decompression software utility developed by Allume Systems . It runs in Mac OS Classic, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux x86/UNIX.As of November 2010, the latest Macintosh version is 2011 , which requires Mac OS X v10.5 or later...
which could decompress StuffIt archives and CompactPro archives. Compact Pro maintained a niche among loyal users and as a preparation tool for Cyclos's "Smaller Installer" delivery package (which was notably used by Ambrosia Software
Ambrosia Software
Ambrosia Software is a predominantly Macintosh software company located in Rochester, New York. Ambrosia produces utilities and games. Its products are distributed as shareware; demo versions can be downloaded and used for up to 30 days....
), but disappeared from the market by the late 1990s. It is no longer supported.
Compact Pro sported a clean interface and a variety of features that were not available on contemporary (early 90s) versions of StuffIt. Some of these included the ability to extract everything from an archive by double-clicking on it with the Option key held down, and that Compact Pro recognized and automatically converted BinHex
BinHex
BinHex, short for "binary-to-hexadecimal", is a binary-to-text encoding system that was used on the Mac OS for sending binary files through e-mail. It is similar to Uuencode, but combined both "forks" of the Mac file system together, along with extended file information...
formatted files back into native format. Compact Pro also featured an easy-to-use system for splitting files into parts to fit on floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s, a feature that most such systems implemented in an external program, if at all.
Compact Pro also included the ability to produce self-extracting archives. Although this was becoming common in archivers at the time, its particular implementation was notable because the extractor "stub" code was quite small at about 18 kB (compared to StuffIt at 38 kB). In an era of 14400 bit/s modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
s, this was a worthwhile savings. Many considered even this to be too large to bother with, and there were a number of small third-party utilities to strip the stub off from an existing archive. Compact Pro's stub could also expand files that had been split into parts, a rare feature at the time.
Normal archives created with Compact Pro use the .cpt file extension, while self-extracting versions used .sea. File extensions are not normally needed on the Mac, but were commonly used on archives because they would typically be stored on some other system that would normally require them (PCs for instance). These files were generally stored in MacBinary
MacBinary
Due to the metadata-rich nature of the Macintosh Hierarchical File System, transferring Mac OS files to platforms that do not support HFS can be problematic. MacBinary was developed as a means of preserving this structure without sacrificing portability. It combines the data and resource forks...
format on such machines, however, making the extension somewhat superfluous.
Users were able to uncompress Compact Pro archives within MS-Dos/Windows based PCs using the ExtractorPC utility from Sylos. This utility runs in MS-DOS and was helpful as a cross platform tool.
Compact Pro was unequaled by any other compression utility in its preservation of HFS
HFS
HFS may stand for:* Hyperfine structure* Hereditarily finite set* Hexafluorosilicic acid* WHFS , 'HFS was a slang abbreviation for the radio stations with that call sign in the Washington / Baltimore area...
metadata, such as creation dates, labels, and other data found in the 16 byte long HFileInfo
HFileInfo
HFileInfo is an API structure from the "classic" Mac OS that exposes information about a file stored in Apple's Hierarchical File System on a Macintosh computer...
which HFS associated with each file.
External links
- Compression Wars — in this article the compression and speed of Compact Pro (referred to as "Compactor", the name for an early version) are clearly superior to StuffIt. It is over twice as fast decompressing a StuffIt archive as StuffIt itself, and even faster on its own files.
- Compact Pro 1.52 — a similar review showing even more dramatic differences in archive size, as well as Compact Pro's ability to display custom self-extracting notices.
- macutils, converts between different Macintosh file encodings; supposedly can unpack Compact Pro archives