[TAG] Transparent File Compresser

[Thomas Adam]

On Thu, Dec 08, 2005 at 04:43:22PM +0530, J.Bakshi wrote:
> like to install a lots of linux S/W for testing and learning. E2compr
> is actually for ext2 and ext3 filesystem. What about reiserfs ? is
> there any Transparent kernel level speedy tool for reiserfs/xfs ? If

There might be, but as those filesystems are relatively new (in
comparison of ext{,2,3}) there probably isn't anything that's of any
prominence.   Of course, given that the overall space you might gain in
doing so is most likely negligable overall to the size of a partition, I
question whether it is effective or not to follow this persuit.

I'm well known for using antiquated hardware.  I used to install Linux
onto laptops that only had a 500MB harddrive.   That's still possible,
but you would have to really strip it down -- no Xfor a start.  I hardly
think a 4GB drive or so is "small" --- you can get _a lot_ of
information on a drive of that size.

If you're really that paranoid about saving space, then here's some
ideas for you (although some of them are likely to be annoying to a
user, or users):

*  Don't install any manpages  (bad idea)
*  For any documentation in /usr/share/doc -- compress (via gzip)
*  If you're using X11, try using TinyX (although this is likely to
   limit compatibility with some XLib applications -- especially the
   esoteric ones.)
*  Use quotas[1] on filesystems to restrict runaway people.

> you are a user of such tool then please share your experience with
> a note about your H/W. Thanks in advanced for sharing your valuable
> experience and your time.

You might (since you're on this idea that compression == good) want to
look at "upx"[2].

-- Thomas Adam

 [1] http://linuxgazette.net/issue81/adam.html#quotas
 [2] http://linuxgazette.net/issue70/adam.html#progupx

--  
I'm brutal, honest, and afraid of you.