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#1 2005-04-14 17:48:45

vande198
Member
From: East Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: 2003-09-12
Posts: 98

Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

EDIT (18 April 2005):  I redid this test with a larger package sample.  See post below.

I've been fooling around with p7zip lately (you can get the PKGBUILD via the AUR).  The most recent version is supposed to take advantage of some pretty substantial speed enhancements.  Anyway, I thought I'd compare 7zip on arch with bzip2 and gzip to see how they would compress some arch packages.  Here are the (non-scientific and non-canonical) results.  (This was done on a pentium2-class celeron, so tests on most other i686s will yield smaller time differences between formats most likely)

Here's the packages I chose to test: 

acroread-7.0.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
gecko-sdk-1.7.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
gtk-smooth-engine-0.5.8-3.pkg.tar.gz
hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar.gz
hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar.gz
lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
mozilla-common-1.0-2.pkg.tar.gz
mrxvt-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
mtools-3.9.9-2.pkg.tar.gz
openldap-2.2.24-1.pkg.tar.gz
sdl_ttf-2.0.6-2.pkg.tar.gz
xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar.gz
zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar.gz
zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar.gz

(Looking back on this now, I realize didn't get a good batch of 1MB to 10MB samples included.)

I ungziped these samples, then rezipped them in 7zip, bzip2, and gzip once again.  Here are the (very approximate) times it took each to zip these tarfiles sequentially (the 7zip is especially fuzzy since I screwed up during the compression):
EDIT:  I redid the compression in a more accurate manner and got the following results:

7zip compress: 19:41
Bzip2 compress:  8:56
Gzip compress:  3:00

One caveat:  Approximately half of 7zip's time was spent on acroread.  On all other files, it was approximately as fast as bzip2, and (by my perception) a little bit quicker on xorg.

Later, I decompressed all of them in sequence, yielding these times (much more accurate):

7zip decompress:  1:23
Bzip2 decompress:  2:37
Gzip decompress:  34 seconds

Here are the comparative sizes of the compressed files grouped by compression format.  The percentages refer to the compressed archive's size compared to the tar it compressed.  The overall percentages refer to the commulative sizes of the compressed archives compared to the commulative sizes of the tarfiles.  Smaller percentages equal smaller files.

tar/:
total 241176 (100% tar size)
128337 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar
 96814 acroread-7.0.0-1.pkg.tar
  4957 gecko-sdk-1.7.3-1.pkg.tar
  4857 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar
  2715 openldap-2.2.24-1.pkg.tar
   953 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar
   541 gtk-smooth-engine-0.5.8-3.pkg.tar
   533 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar
   400 mtools-3.9.9-2.pkg.tar
   312 mrxvt-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar
   232 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar
   160 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar
   152 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar
   112 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar
    60 sdl_ttf-2.0.6-2.pkg.tar
    32 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar
    12 mozilla-common-1.0-2.pkg.tar

gz/:
total 105104 (43% tar size)
60627 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar.gz (47%)
39194 acroread-7.0.0-1.pkg.tar.gz (40%)
 1886 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar.gz (39%)
 1057 openldap-2.2.24-1.pkg.tar.gz (39%)
  973 gecko-sdk-1.7.3-1.pkg.tar.gz (19%)
  440 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar.gz (46%)
  180 mtools-3.9.9-2.pkg.tar.gz (45%)
  176 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar.gz (33%)
  156 gtk-smooth-engine-0.5.8-3.pkg.tar.gz (29%)
  140 mrxvt-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar.gz (45%)
   92 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar.gz (40%)
   68 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar.gz (43%)
   48 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar.gz (43%)
   32 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar.gz (21%)
   20 sdl_ttf-2.0.6-2.pkg.tar.gz (33%)
   12 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar.gz (38%)
    4 mozilla-common-1.0-2.pkg.tar.gz (33%)

bz2/:
total 100035 (41% tar size)
58285 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2 (45%)
37108 acroread-7.0.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2 (38%)
 1694 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar.bz2 (35%)
  949 openldap-2.2.24-1.pkg.tar.bz2 (35%)
  817 gecko-sdk-1.7.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2 (16%)
  316 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2 (33%)
  176 mtools-3.9.9-2.pkg.tar.bz2 (44%)
  160 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar.bz2 (30%)
  140 gtk-smooth-engine-0.5.8-3.pkg.tar.bz2 (26%)
  136 mrxvt-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2 (44%)
   76 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2 (33%)
   68 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar.bz2 (43%)
   48 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2 (43%)
   28 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar.bz2 (18%)
   20 sdl_ttf-2.0.6-2.pkg.tar.bz2 (33%)
   12 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2 (38%)
    4 mozilla-common-1.0-2.pkg.tar.bz2 (33%)

7z/:
total 80277 (33% tar size)
47971 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar.7z (37%)
29369 acroread-7.0.0-1.pkg.tar.7z (30%)
  709 openldap-2.2.24-1.pkg.tar.7z (26%)
  697 gecko-sdk-1.7.3-1.pkg.tar.7z (14%)
  553 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar.7z (11%) (I double checked this one)
  232 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar.7z (24%)
  160 mtools-3.9.9-2.pkg.tar.7z (40%)
  140 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar.7z (26%)
  120 mrxvt-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar.7z (38%)
  112 gtk-smooth-engine-0.5.8-3.pkg.tar.7z (21%)
   60 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar.7z (26%)
   60 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar.7z (38%)
   40 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar.7z (33%)
   28 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar.7z (18%)
   16 sdl_ttf-2.0.6-2.pkg.tar.7z (27%)
    8 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar.7z (25%)
    4 mozilla-common-1.0-2.pkg.tar.7z (33%)

Overall, you can tell that 7zip files are consistantly much smaller than gzip or bzip2, albeit taking much longer to compress.  It should be noted again that 7zips long compression time on acroread may be atypical, and that in a grander scheme it would be more comparable to bzip2 in speed.  Unlike bzip2, which compressed files just a few percentages smaller than gzip, 7zip was much more effective at compressing at significantly smaller sizes.  In the longer run, if 7zip and p7zip continue to increase compression and decompression speed, it might become a viable alternative to gzip.

"To be a Spartan is to be a philosopher much more than to be an athlete."
Plato, the <i>Protagoras</i>, 342e-343a

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#2 2005-04-14 18:37:43

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

this question was asked before, and I can't recall where: someone wanted to know why arch used gz instead of bz2.
The general concensus was that bz2 takes slightly longer to (de)compress and judd wanted to shoot for speed over size - bandwidth and server space are generally cheap...
admittedly, it appears the p7 decompression is faster than bzip, but it's still slower than gzip

http://phraktured.net

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#3 2005-04-14 19:00:32

vande198
Member
From: East Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: 2003-09-12
Posts: 98

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

Nevertheless, in the long run, the speed advantages of gzip might become marginal in comparison to 7zip, especially if 7zip continues its recent trend in increasing speed.  Furthermore, as arch increases in popularity and the package set increases, the priorities of Arch might have to shift when it comes to speed/size.  FreeBSD went through a similar issue a while back.  They now use .tbz2 as their packaging standard.  7zip certainly doesn't seem to be quite ready to replace gzip yet, but we should certainly keep an eye on it.

"To be a Spartan is to be a philosopher much more than to be an athlete."
Plato, the <i>Protagoras</i>, 342e-343a

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#4 2005-04-14 19:29:08

Snowman
Developer/Forum Fellow
From: Montreal, Canada
Registered: 2004-08-20
Posts: 5,212

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

There is currently a feature request on the bug tracker about using bzip2 instead of gzip. http://bugs.archlinux.org/index.php?do=details&id=2264

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#5 2005-04-15 00:30:13

zeppelin
Member
From: Athens, Greece
Registered: 2004-03-05
Posts: 807
Website

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

since I'm the one who opened that bugreport [and since I always like Judd]. I have to say 7zip no way. Arch plans to expand to other architectures where 7zip is not doing the best it can atm. 7zip is also very new [as bzip2 was when Judd started]. Maybe in 3 years or so. Until then let us hope that we'll see bzip2 in Archlinux cause of two reasons:

a) server costs/high bandwidth usage [archers are more and more and archlinux.org doesn't like that ] tongue
b) a lot of packages are becoming larger and larger
c) ARCH is i686 and it's not dead i386 slackware or FOO i386 distro. Arch imHHHHHHHHHo was never and should be never have in mind: "hey those old pcs would be hell slower with bzip2". ARCH doesn't care about LOWER than i686.
That's why I never understood why some guys wanted i586 for archlinux. I mean there're so many distros out there. and desc says it all:
an i686-optimized linux distribution

Gajim, a Jabber client written in PyGTK

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#6 2005-04-15 00:53:23

aCoder
Member
From: Medina, OH
Registered: 2004-03-07
Posts: 359
Website

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

That's why I never understood why some guys wanted i586 for archlinux.

pacman.

If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience.
  - John Cage

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#7 2005-04-15 01:01:17

cactus
Taco Eater
From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
Website

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

zeppelin wrote:

Arch plans to expand to other architectures where 7zip is not doing the best it can atm.

*snip *

c) ARCH is i686 and it's not dead i386 slackware or FOO i386 distro. Arch imHHHHHHHHHo was never and should be never have in mind: "hey those old pcs would be hell slower with bzip2". ARCH doesn't care about LOWER than i686.
That's why I never understood why some guys wanted i586 for archlinux. I mean there're so many distros out there. and desc says it all:
an i686-optimized linux distribution

You seem to have contradicted yourself.

While it is indeed a valid point that arch is i686, and certain compromises should not be made in the DISTRIBUTION based on thoughts of other architectures, it would be very poor to not consider other architectures in reference to the architecture of pacman.

pacman is a package manager (http://www.archlinux.org/pacman/). It is not necessarily specific to one architecture. pacman allows for alternate architectures, as it rightly should in my opinion.

I would say no to 7zip until it becomes a bit more mature.

"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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#8 2005-04-18 13:24:44

vande198
Member
From: East Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: 2003-09-12
Posts: 98

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

I redid the test with a larger/more diversified package set.  For the sake of brevity, I'll put the interesting info at the beginning:

Here are the times:

7zcompress:  53:08
bz2compress:  23:26
gzcompress:  8:07

7zdecompress:  3:01
bz2decompress:  5:54
gzdecompress:  1:14

Here are the commulative size comparisons of the formats with percentages refering to their size vis-a-vis the original tarfile (see below for details:

Cummulative tar size: 673329
gzip:  251219 (37%)
bzip2:  223803 (33%)
7zip:  183214 (27%)

Conclusions:
It appears the compression latencies seen with acroread previously are pretty consistent and not just a fluke.  On the other end, 7zip this time appears to be a bit faster in decompression in relation to bzip2 than the previous round.  Moreover, although 7zip generates archives that are significantly smaller than their gzip and bzip2 equivalents, this round reveals a smaller margin of difference between bzip2 archives and 7zip archives.  In general, all three formats yielded better compression sizes than in the previous round.  7zip looks like a promising compression utility, especially if it can cut down on the compression time, which appears comparatively abhorrent on my celeron1 450mhz.

Here's the list of the original tar files:

total 673329
128337 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar
128017 tetex-3.0-1.pkg.tar
 85123 j2re-1.5.0_01-1.pkg.tar
 34654 python-2.4.1-1.pkg.tar
 31271 perl-5.8.6-2.pkg.tar
 10883 ruby-1.8.2-3.pkg.tar
 10282 vim-6.3-4.pkg.tar
  9349 xine-lib-1.0-1.pkg.tar
  9089 foomatic-2.0.3-2.pkg.tar
  6959 perl-tk-804.027-1.pkg.tar
  6839 db-4.3.27-2.pkg.tar
  6787 ted-2.17-1.pkg.tar
  6558 ncurses-5.4-2.pkg.tar
  6498 ding-1.3-3.pkg.tar
  6238 binutils-2.15-1.pkg.tar
  6026 xfwm4-themes-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
  5557 xfce4-icon-theme-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
  5285 xmms-1.2.10-3.pkg.tar
  5097 tcl-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar
  4897 lesstif-0.94.0-1.pkg.tar
  4857 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar
  4805 xmms-skins-0.3-1.pkg.tar
  4404 libgphoto2-2.1.5-1.pkg.tar
  4264 pygtk-2.6.1-1.pkg.tar
  4076 libxml2-2.6.19-1.pkg.tar
  3864 ttf-ms-fonts-1.3-6.pkg.tar
  3704 bmp-0.9.7-1.pkg.tar
  3636 tk-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar
  3624 doxygen-1.4.1-1.pkg.tar
  3596 heimdal-0.6.3-3.pkg.tar
  3415 fortune-mod-9708-1.pkg.tar
  3323 xfdesktop-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
  3295 xffm-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar
  3143 pan-0.14.2.91-2.pkg.tar
  2715 libvorbis-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar
  2663 xine-ui-0.99.3-2.pkg.tar
  2603 vte-0.11.11-4.pkg.tar
  2462 flac-1.1.2-2.pkg.tar
  2414 freetype2-2.1.9-2.pkg.tar
  2402 xfwm4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
  2362 libxfcegui4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
  2242 libtool-1.5.14-1.pkg.tar
  2062 flashplugin-7.0.25.0-1.pkg.tar
  2062 nedit-5.5-1.pkg.tar
  2054 pango-1.8.1-1.pkg.tar
  2034 dbus-0.23.2-3.pkg.tar
  1914 hwd-4.1.2-1.pkg.tar
  1902 xfce4-session-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
  1874 hpijs-1.7.1-1.pkg.tar
  1762 xfce4-artwork-0.0.4-1.pkg.tar
  1522 fftw-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar
  1514 t1lib-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar
  1473 jasper-1.701.0-1.pkg.tar
  1473 lincity-1.12.1-1.pkg.tar
  1453 file-4.13-1.pkg.tar
  1421 tunepimp-0.3.0-3.pkg.tar
  1321 libtiff-3.7.2-1.pkg.tar
  1281 divx4linux-5.10-3.pkg.tar
  1261 lynx-2.8.5-2.pkg.tar
  1213 libmng-1.0.9-1.pkg.tar
  1193 lftp-3.1.2-1.pkg.tar
  1193 xfce4-wavelan-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar
  1173 pilot-link-0.11.8-3.pkg.tar
  1013 prelink-20041123-1.pkg.tar
   993 lm_sensors-2.9.1-1.pkg.tar
   973 tar-1.15.1-1.pkg.tar
   973 xfce-utils-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   973 xfce4-panel-4.2.1.1-1.pkg.tar
   961 libxslt-1.1.14-1.pkg.tar
   961 pam-0.79-1.pkg.tar
   953 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar
   953 libgsf-1.11.1-2.pkg.tar
   941 reiserfsprogs-3.6.19-1.pkg.tar
   921 libpng-1.2.8-1.pkg.tar
   913 pacman-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar
   881 libgcrypt-1.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   853 jack-audio-connection-kit-0.99.0-2.pkg.tar
   833 faad2-devel-2.0.cvs20040915-1.pkg.tar
   833 libsndfile-1.0.11-1.pkg.tar
   813 bash-3.0-6.pkg.tar
   813 timidity++-2.13.0-1.pkg.tar
   801 nano-1.2.4-3.pkg.tar
   781 xfce-mcs-plugins-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   773 libcroco-0.6.0-2.pkg.tar
   741 fontconfig-2.3.1-1.pkg.tar
   741 xfprint-4.2.1-2.pkg.tar
   733 libmikmod-3.1.11-1.pkg.tar
   701 bison-2.0-1.pkg.tar
   693 librsvg-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar
   693 taglib-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar
   653 ppp-2.4.3-1.pkg.tar
   653 tidyhtml-20040308-1.pkg.tar
   641 faad2-2.0-5.pkg.tar
   633 readline-5.0-3.pkg.tar
   621 lcms-1.14-1.pkg.tar
   593 lua-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar
   581 xfce4-weather-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar
   561 libidn-0.5.15-1.pkg.tar
   541 findutils-4.2.20-1.pkg.tar
   533 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar
   513 foomatic-db-engine-3.0.1-1.pkg.tar
   513 libmal-0.40-1.pkg.tar
   501 libxfce4util-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   501 perlxml-2.34-3.pkg.tar
   493 pornview-0.1.5-2.pkg.tar
   493 vorbis-tools-1.0.1-5.pkg.tar
   481 rar-3.4.1-1.pkg.tar
   473 libglade-2.5.1-1.pkg.tar
   473 libjpeg-6b-3.pkg.tar
   452 libksba-0.9.9-1.pkg.tar
   440 flex-2.5.31-2.pkg.tar
   440 libungif-4.1.3-1.pkg.tar
   432 libidl2-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar
   420 libexif-0.6.9-1.pkg.tar
   420 xfce4-mixer-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar
   412 libidl-0.6.8-1.pkg.tar
   400 docbook-xml-4.1.2-2.pkg.tar
   400 raptor-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar
   392 libpcap-0.8.3-1.pkg.tar
   380 freetype1-1.3.1-2.pkg.tar
   372 feh-1.2.9-1.pkg.tar
   372 nasm-0.98.39-1.pkg.tar
   372 net-tools-1.60-9.pkg.tar
   360 procps-3.2.5-1.pkg.tar
   352 pciutils-2.1.11-3.pkg.tar
   332 libart-lgpl-2.3.17-1.pkg.tar
   332 pcre-5.0-1.pkg.tar
   300 libtheora-1.0alpha4-1.pkg.tar
   292 xfce-mcs-manager-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   272 libelf-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar
   260 ripperx-2.6.4-1.pkg.tar
   252 libsamplerate-0.1.2-1.pkg.tar
   252 pth-2.0.3-1.pkg.tar
   252 xfcalendar-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar
   240 fam-2.7.0-3.pkg.tar
   240 pinentry-0.7.1-1.pkg.tar
   232 libxfce4mcs-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   232 lilo-22.7-1.pkg.tar
   232 lzo-1.08-1.pkg.tar
   232 psutils-p17-3.pkg.tar
   232 xfce4-appfinder-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   232 xfce4-iconbox-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar
   232 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar
   220 foomatic-filters-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar
   220 libmad-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar
   220 xfce4-toys-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   212 libtasn1-0.2.13-1.pkg.tar
   200 bzip2-1.0.3-1.pkg.tar
   200 fribidi-0.10.4-1.pkg.tar
   200 normalize-0.7.6-1.pkg.tar
   200 rdesktop-1.3.1-3.pkg.tar
   192 libcdaudio-0.99.10-1.pkg.tar
   192 libid3tag-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar
   180 dvd+rw-tools-5.21.4.10.8-2.pkg.tar
   180 faac-1.24-1.pkg.tar
   180 libieee1284-0.2.8-1.pkg.tar
   180 libtar-1.2.11-2.pkg.tar
   180 psmisc-21.6-1.pkg.tar
   172 tcp_wrappers-7.6-6.pkg.tar
   160 xfce4-trigger-launcher-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
   160 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar
   152 dirmngr-0.5.6-1.pkg.tar
   152 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar
   152 less-382-2.pkg.tar
   152 rxvt-2.6.4-2.pkg.tar
   152 xfce4-xkb-plugin-0.3.2-2.pkg.tar
   140 libraw1394-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar
   140 ratpoison-1.3.0-2.pkg.tar
   132 namcap-1.5.2.1-2.pkg.tar
   120 bin86-0.16.16-1.pkg.tar
   120 dialog-1.0-3.pkg.tar
   120 tpctl-4.15-1.pkg.tar
   120 xfce4-notes-plugin-0.10.0-1.pkg.tar
   112 desktop-file-utils-0.10-1.pkg.tar
   112 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar
   112 libgpg-error-1.0-1.pkg.tar
   112 pkgconfig-0.16.0-1.pkg.tar
   100 ladspa-1.12-2.pkg.tar
   100 xfce4-netload-plugin-0.3.1-1.pkg.tar
    92 libao-0.8.6-1.pkg.tar
    92 liblrdf-0.3.7-1.pkg.tar
    92 libusb-0.1.8-5.pkg.tar
    92 lzop-1.01-3.pkg.tar
    92 pmount-0.6-1.pkg.tar
    92 xfce4-systemload-plugin-0.3.6-1.pkg.tar
    80 libassuan-0.6.7-1.pkg.tar
    80 libmusepack-1.0.3.1-2.pkg.tar
    80 xfce4-battery-plugin-0.2.0-3.pkg.tar
    80 xfce4-fsguard-plugin-0.2.0-2.pkg.tar
    72 dbh-1.0.24-1.pkg.tar
    72 libcap-1.10-1.pkg.tar
    72 libogg-1.1.2-1.pkg.tar
    72 xfce4-cpugraph-plugin-0.2.2-2.pkg.tar
    72 xfce4-diskperf-plugin-1.5-2.pkg.tar
    60 devfsd-1.3.25-4.pkg.tar
    60 filesystem-0.7-5.pkg.tar
    60 xfce4-sensors-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar
    60 xfce4-showdesktop-plugin-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar
    60 xmms-mad-0.7-1.pkg.tar
    60 xmms-musepack-1.1.1-2.pkg.tar
    52 dcron-2.9-2.pkg.tar
    52 dhcpcd-1.3.22pl4-4.pkg.tar
    52 portmap-5beta-9.pkg.tar
    52 xfce4-datetime-plugin-0.3.1-2.pkg.tar
    52 xfce4-windowlist-plugin-0.1.0-2.pkg.tar
    40 xfce4-minicmd-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar
    40 xfce4-taskbar-plugin-0.2.2-1.pkg.tar
    40 xfce4-xmms-plugin-0.1.1-2.pkg.tar
    32 xfce4-clipman-plugin-0.4.1-2.pkg.tar
    32 xfce4-systray-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar
    32 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar
    20 netselect-0.3-1.pkg.tar
    20 rpm2targz-9.0-s1.pkg.tar
    12 rpmunpack-0-1.pkg.tar

And here are the sizes, without individual package percentages this time (see above for tar sizes):

gzip:
total 251219 (37% of the total size of the tarfiles)
60627 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
43298 tetex-3.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
29881 j2re-1.5.0_01-1.pkg.tar.gz
11920 perl-5.8.6-2.pkg.tar.gz
10170 python-2.4.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
 4560 xmms-skins-0.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
 3972 xine-lib-1.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
 3383 ttf-ms-fonts-1.3-6.pkg.tar.gz
 3019 vim-6.3-4.pkg.tar.gz
 2691 db-4.3.27-2.pkg.tar.gz
 2474 ruby-1.8.2-3.pkg.tar.gz
 2442 binutils-2.15-1.pkg.tar.gz
 2374 perl-tk-804.027-1.pkg.tar.gz
 2266 xfdesktop-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
 2210 ted-2.17-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1986 ding-1.3-3.pkg.tar.gz
 1906 xffm-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1902 xmms-1.2.10-3.pkg.tar.gz
 1886 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar.gz
 1734 xfce4-artwork-0.0.4-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1722 lesstif-0.94.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1710 tcl-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1574 ncurses-5.4-2.pkg.tar.gz
 1566 xine-ui-0.99.3-2.pkg.tar.gz
 1429 fortune-mod-9708-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1409 xfce4-icon-theme-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1409 libxml2-2.6.19-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1373 tk-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1373 hpijs-1.7.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1333 libgphoto2-2.1.5-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1309 doxygen-1.4.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1249 heimdal-0.6.3-3.pkg.tar.gz
 1117 pygtk-2.6.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
 1117 pan-0.14.2.91-2.pkg.tar.gz
 1065 vte-0.11.11-4.pkg.tar.gz
 1001 xfce4-session-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  965 bmp-0.9.7-1.pkg.tar.gz
  961 flashplugin-7.0.25.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
  829 t1lib-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
  817 nedit-5.5-1.pkg.tar.gz
  753 foomatic-2.0.3-2.pkg.tar.gz
  677 dbus-0.23.2-3.pkg.tar.gz
  665 freetype2-2.1.9-2.pkg.tar.gz
  657 flac-1.1.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
  629 jasper-1.701.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
  577 xfwm4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  577 lynx-2.8.5-2.pkg.tar.gz
  553 fftw-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
  545 libxfcegui4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  541 xfwm4-themes-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  521 libtool-1.5.14-1.pkg.tar.gz
  505 lftp-3.1.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
  501 libtiff-3.7.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
  485 tunepimp-0.3.0-3.pkg.tar.gz
  456 prelink-20041123-1.pkg.tar.gz
  456 pango-1.8.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  452 libvorbis-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
  444 reiserfsprogs-3.6.19-1.pkg.tar.gz
  440 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
  432 faad2-devel-2.0.cvs20040915-1.pkg.tar.gz
  428 pilot-link-0.11.8-3.pkg.tar.gz
  404 hwd-4.1.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
  400 divx4linux-5.10-3.pkg.tar.gz
  400 pacman-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar.gz
  388 bash-3.0-6.pkg.tar.gz
  388 xfce4-panel-4.2.1.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  388 libmng-1.0.9-1.pkg.tar.gz

  380 lincity-1.12.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  376 libgcrypt-1.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  376 timidity++-2.13.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
  364 libpng-1.2.8-1.pkg.tar.gz
  340 xfce4-weather-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  336 tar-1.15.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  336 pam-0.79-1.pkg.tar.gz
  336 libxslt-1.1.14-1.pkg.tar.gz
  332 faad2-2.0-5.pkg.tar.gz
  320 xfce-utils-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  308 xfprint-4.2.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
  304 fontconfig-2.3.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  300 libsndfile-1.0.11-1.pkg.tar.gz
  296 xfce-mcs-plugins-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  280 xfce4-wavelan-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  280 nano-1.2.4-3.pkg.tar.gz
  276 ppp-2.4.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
  272 file-4.13-1.pkg.tar.gz
  268 libmikmod-3.1.11-1.pkg.tar.gz
  252 lm_sensors-2.9.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  248 lua-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
  248 readline-5.0-3.pkg.tar.gz
  248 librsvg-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar.gz
  244 feh-1.2.9-1.pkg.tar.gz
  244 rar-3.4.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  240 tidyhtml-20040308-1.pkg.tar.gz
  236 lcms-1.14-1.pkg.tar.gz
  232 libcroco-0.6.0-2.pkg.tar.gz
  228 perlxml-2.34-3.pkg.tar.gz
  212 libgsf-1.11.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
  212 libsamplerate-0.1.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
  208 bison-2.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
  200 libjpeg-6b-3.pkg.tar.gz
  196 pornview-0.1.5-2.pkg.tar.gz
  188 jack-audio-connection-kit-0.99.0-2.pkg.tar.gz
  188 libidn-0.5.15-1.pkg.tar.gz
  180 taglib-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  176 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar.gz
  176 procps-3.2.5-1.pkg.tar.gz
  176 vorbis-tools-1.0.1-5.pkg.tar.gz
  176 libksba-0.9.9-1.pkg.tar.gz
  164 pcre-5.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
  160 findutils-4.2.20-1.pkg.tar.gz
  156 net-tools-1.60-9.pkg.tar.gz
  156 libidl2-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar.gz
  156 libpcap-0.8.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
  148 libmal-0.40-1.pkg.tar.gz
  144 nasm-0.98.39-1.pkg.tar.gz
  144 xfce-mcs-manager-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  144 raptor-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  140 foomatic-db-engine-3.0.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  140 libidl-0.6.8-1.pkg.tar.gz
  136 flex-2.5.31-2.pkg.tar.gz
  132 libexif-0.6.9-1.pkg.tar.gz
  132 libmad-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar.gz
  128 libtheora-1.0alpha4-1.pkg.tar.gz
  128 libungif-4.1.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
  128 xfce4-mixer-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
  124 libglade-2.5.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  120 pciutils-2.1.11-3.pkg.tar.gz
  116 freetype1-1.3.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
  112 pth-2.0.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
  112 lilo-22.7-1.pkg.tar.gz
  108 libxfce4util-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  108 libart-lgpl-2.3.17-1.pkg.tar.gz
  104 pinentry-0.7.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
  104 xfce4-appfinder-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
   96 normalize-0.7.6-1.pkg.tar.gz
   96 ripperx-2.6.4-1.pkg.tar.gz
   92 libtasn1-0.2.13-1.pkg.tar.gz
   92 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
   88 fam-2.7.0-3.pkg.tar.gz
   80 faac-1.24-1.pkg.tar.gz
   80 libelf-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar.gz
   80 bzip2-1.0.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
   80 less-382-2.pkg.tar.gz
   76 dvd+rw-tools-5.21.4.10.8-2.pkg.tar.gz
   72 libid3tag-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar.gz
   72 libcdaudio-0.99.10-1.pkg.tar.gz
   68 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar.gz
   64 dirmngr-0.5.6-1.pkg.tar.gz
   64 libieee1284-0.2.8-1.pkg.tar.gz
   64 tcp_wrappers-7.6-6.pkg.tar.gz
   64 docbook-xml-4.1.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
   60 dialog-1.0-3.pkg.tar.gz
   60 rxvt-2.6.4-2.pkg.tar.gz
   60 rdesktop-1.3.1-3.pkg.tar.gz
   60 xfcalendar-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   60 psutils-p17-3.pkg.tar.gz
   56 foomatic-filters-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
   56 ratpoison-1.3.0-2.pkg.tar.gz
   56 bin86-0.16.16-1.pkg.tar.gz
   52 xfce4-iconbox-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   52 fribidi-0.10.4-1.pkg.tar.gz
   48 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
   48 desktop-file-utils-0.10-1.pkg.tar.gz
   48 pkgconfig-0.16.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   48 lzo-1.08-1.pkg.tar.gz
   48 xfce4-toys-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
   48 psmisc-21.6-1.pkg.tar.gz
   48 libxfce4mcs-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
   48 xfce4-xkb-plugin-0.3.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
   44 tpctl-4.15-1.pkg.tar.gz
   44 lzop-1.01-3.pkg.tar.gz
   44 libtar-1.2.11-2.pkg.tar.gz
   40 libraw1394-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   32 ladspa-1.12-2.pkg.tar.gz
   32 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar.gz
   32 xfce4-netload-plugin-0.3.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
   32 libgpg-error-1.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   32 xfce4-notes-plugin-0.10.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   28 libmusepack-1.0.3.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
   28 devfsd-1.3.25-4.pkg.tar.gz
   28 liblrdf-0.3.7-1.pkg.tar.gz
   28 xfce4-battery-plugin-0.2.0-3.pkg.tar.gz
   28 pmount-0.6-1.pkg.tar.gz
   28 xfce4-trigger-launcher-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
   28 xmms-musepack-1.1.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
   28 libassuan-0.6.7-1.pkg.tar.gz
   28 xfce4-diskperf-plugin-1.5-2.pkg.tar.gz
   28 dbh-1.0.24-1.pkg.tar.gz
   28 xfce4-systemload-plugin-0.3.6-1.pkg.tar.gz
   24 libao-0.8.6-1.pkg.tar.gz
   24 namcap-1.5.2.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
   24 xmms-mad-0.7-1.pkg.tar.gz
   24 libusb-0.1.8-5.pkg.tar.gz
   24 xfce4-cpugraph-plugin-0.2.2-2.pkg.tar.gz
   20 dhcpcd-1.3.22pl4-4.pkg.tar.gz
   20 libogg-1.1.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
   20 libcap-1.10-1.pkg.tar.gz
   20 xfce4-sensors-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   20 portmap-5beta-9.pkg.tar.gz
   20 xfce4-fsguard-plugin-0.2.0-2.pkg.tar.gz
   16 dcron-2.9-2.pkg.tar.gz
   16 xfce4-showdesktop-plugin-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   16 xfce4-windowlist-plugin-0.1.0-2.pkg.tar.gz
   16 xfce4-datetime-plugin-0.3.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
   12 xfce4-taskbar-plugin-0.2.2-1.pkg.tar.gz
   12 xfce4-minicmd-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
   12 xfce4-clipman-plugin-0.4.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
   12 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
    8 netselect-0.3-1.pkg.tar.gz
    8 xfce4-xmms-plugin-0.1.1-2.pkg.tar.gz
    8 xfce4-systray-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.gz
    4 rpm2targz-9.0-s1.pkg.tar.gz
    4 filesystem-0.7-5.pkg.tar.gz
    4 rpmunpack-0-1.pkg.tar.gz

bzip2:
total 223803 (33% of total tar file size)
58285 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2
37961 tetex-3.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
25245 j2re-1.5.0_01-1.pkg.tar.bz2
10815 perl-5.8.6-2.pkg.tar.bz2
 8048 python-2.4.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 4621 xmms-skins-0.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 3988 xine-lib-1.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 3259 ttf-ms-fonts-1.3-6.pkg.tar.bz2
 2571 vim-6.3-4.pkg.tar.bz2
 2246 xfdesktop-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 2230 db-4.3.27-2.pkg.tar.bz2
 2142 ruby-1.8.2-3.pkg.tar.bz2
 2106 perl-tk-804.027-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1970 ted-2.17-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1958 binutils-2.15-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1782 xffm-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1746 ding-1.3-3.pkg.tar.bz2
 1738 xfce4-artwork-0.0.4-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1694 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar.bz2
 1546 lesstif-0.94.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1518 xine-ui-0.99.3-2.pkg.tar.bz2
 1369 ncurses-5.4-2.pkg.tar.bz2
 1353 tcl-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1317 xmms-1.2.10-3.pkg.tar.bz2
 1269 doxygen-1.4.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1249 libxml2-2.6.19-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1249 tk-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1165 xfce4-icon-theme-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1161 fortune-mod-9708-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1121 hpijs-1.7.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
 1073 heimdal-0.6.3-3.pkg.tar.bz2
 1001 libgphoto2-2.1.5-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  945 vte-0.11.11-4.pkg.tar.bz2
  929 flashplugin-7.0.25.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  905 pygtk-2.6.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  897 xfce4-session-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  849 pan-0.14.2.91-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  813 t1lib-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  769 bmp-0.9.7-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  761 nedit-5.5-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  597 dbus-0.23.2-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  557 freetype2-2.1.9-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  545 lynx-2.8.5-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  529 xfwm4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  509 flac-1.1.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  452 lftp-3.1.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  440 tunepimp-0.3.0-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  428 libtiff-3.7.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  420 libxfcegui4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  416 foomatic-2.0.3-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  404 prelink-20041123-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  400 fftw-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  396 divx4linux-5.10-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  396 pilot-link-0.11.8-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  388 lincity-1.12.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  380 xfce4-panel-4.2.1.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  380 timidity++-2.13.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  368 pango-1.8.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  368 xfwm4-themes-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  364 libvorbis-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  360 pacman-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  356 jasper-1.701.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  352 hwd-4.1.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  340 bash-3.0-6.pkg.tar.bz2
  336 libtool-1.5.14-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  332 faad2-devel-2.0.cvs20040915-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  316 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  316 libmng-1.0.9-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  304 xfce4-weather-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  300 xfce-utils-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  296 xfprint-4.2.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  288 pam-0.79-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  280 xfce-mcs-plugins-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  276 libgcrypt-1.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  276 libxslt-1.1.14-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  276 libpng-1.2.8-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  272 faad2-2.0-5.pkg.tar.bz2
  268 fontconfig-2.3.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  268 tar-1.15.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  264 ppp-2.4.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  260 reiserfsprogs-3.6.19-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  256 feh-1.2.9-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  248 libsndfile-1.0.11-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  244 libmikmod-3.1.11-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  232 lm_sensors-2.9.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  224 file-4.13-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  212 readline-5.0-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  208 librsvg-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  204 lcms-1.14-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  200 rar-3.4.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  196 nano-1.2.4-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  192 pornview-0.1.5-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  192 perlxml-2.34-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  192 libcroco-0.6.0-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  192 bison-2.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  176 tidyhtml-20040308-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  172 procps-3.2.5-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  168 libjpeg-6b-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  164 pcre-5.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  160 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  160 libidn-0.5.15-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  160 libgsf-1.11.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  152 jack-audio-connection-kit-0.99.0-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  148 taglib-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  148 libksba-0.9.9-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  144 xfce-mcs-manager-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  144 libsamplerate-0.1.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  144 findutils-4.2.20-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  140 lua-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  140 nasm-0.98.39-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  140 libidl2-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  136 vorbis-tools-1.0.1-5.pkg.tar.bz2
  132 flex-2.5.31-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  128 libpcap-0.8.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  128 net-tools-1.60-9.pkg.tar.bz2
  124 foomatic-db-engine-3.0.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  124 raptor-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  124 libmal-0.40-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  124 libidl-0.6.8-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  116 lilo-22.7-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  112 xfce4-mixer-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  108 pciutils-2.1.11-3.pkg.tar.bz2
  108 pth-2.0.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  108 freetype1-1.3.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
  108 libtheora-1.0alpha4-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  108 libungif-4.1.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  108 libexif-0.6.9-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  108 libglade-2.5.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  104 xfce4-appfinder-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  100 normalize-0.7.6-1.pkg.tar.bz2
  100 libmad-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   96 ripperx-2.6.4-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   88 pinentry-0.7.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   88 libart-lgpl-2.3.17-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   84 libtasn1-0.2.13-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   84 libxfce4util-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   84 fam-2.7.0-3.pkg.tar.bz2
   80 less-382-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   76 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   72 libelf-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   68 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar.bz2
   68 faac-1.24-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   68 dvd+rw-tools-5.21.4.10.8-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   64 bzip2-1.0.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   64 dirmngr-0.5.6-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   64 tcp_wrappers-7.6-6.pkg.tar.bz2
   64 libcdaudio-0.99.10-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   60 dialog-1.0-3.pkg.tar.bz2
   60 libieee1284-0.2.8-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   60 libid3tag-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   60 rxvt-2.6.4-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   56 rdesktop-1.3.1-3.pkg.tar.bz2
   56 ratpoison-1.3.0-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   56 xfcalendar-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   56 bin86-0.16.16-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   52 psutils-p17-3.pkg.tar.bz2
   52 foomatic-filters-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   52 xfce4-iconbox-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   48 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   48 psmisc-21.6-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   48 docbook-xml-4.1.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   48 pkgconfig-0.16.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   48 xfce4-xkb-plugin-0.3.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   44 xfce4-toys-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   44 tpctl-4.15-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   44 fribidi-0.10.4-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   44 lzop-1.01-3.pkg.tar.bz2
   44 lzo-1.08-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   44 xfce4-wavelan-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   44 libxfce4mcs-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   40 libtar-1.2.11-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   40 libraw1394-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   36 desktop-file-utils-0.10-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   32 ladspa-1.12-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 xfce4-netload-plugin-0.3.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 libmusepack-1.0.3.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 devfsd-1.3.25-4.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 libgpg-error-1.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 pmount-0.6-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 xfce4-battery-plugin-0.2.0-3.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 liblrdf-0.3.7-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   28 xfce4-notes-plugin-0.10.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 dbh-1.0.24-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 xfce4-diskperf-plugin-1.5-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 xmms-musepack-1.1.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 xfce4-systemload-plugin-0.3.6-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 libao-0.8.6-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 xfce4-trigger-launcher-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 libassuan-0.6.7-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 xmms-mad-0.7-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 libcap-1.10-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 namcap-1.5.2.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   24 dhcpcd-1.3.22pl4-4.pkg.tar.bz2
   20 xfce4-cpugraph-plugin-0.2.2-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   20 libogg-1.1.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   20 libusb-0.1.8-5.pkg.tar.bz2
   20 xfce4-sensors-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   20 portmap-5beta-9.pkg.tar.bz2
   20 xfce4-fsguard-plugin-0.2.0-2.pkg.tar.bz2

   20 dcron-2.9-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   16 xfce4-showdesktop-plugin-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   16 xfce4-windowlist-plugin-0.1.0-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   16 xfce4-datetime-plugin-0.3.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   12 xfce4-taskbar-plugin-0.2.2-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   12 xfce4-minicmd-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   12 xfce4-clipman-plugin-0.4.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
   12 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
   12 netselect-0.3-1.pkg.tar.bz2
    8 xfce4-xmms-plugin-0.1.1-2.pkg.tar.bz2
    8 xfce4-systray-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.bz2
    4 rpm2targz-9.0-s1.pkg.tar.bz2
    4 filesystem-0.7-5.pkg.tar.bz2
    4 rpmunpack-0-1.pkg.tar.bz2

7zip:
total 183214 (27% of tar file sizes)
47971 xorg-11R6.8.2-2.pkg.tar.7z
32868 tetex-3.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
19107 j2re-1.5.0_01-1.pkg.tar.7z
 9113 perl-5.8.6-2.pkg.tar.7z
 6891 python-2.4.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
 4512 xmms-skins-0.3-1.pkg.tar.7z
 3151 xine-lib-1.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
 2995 ttf-ms-fonts-1.3-6.pkg.tar.7z
 2410 vim-6.3-4.pkg.tar.7z
 2150 xfdesktop-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1906 perl-tk-804.027-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1718 xfce4-artwork-0.0.4-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1710 ruby-1.8.2-3.pkg.tar.7z
 1602 xffm-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1598 ding-1.3-3.pkg.tar.7z
 1558 ted-2.17-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1365 binutils-2.15-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1353 xine-ui-0.99.3-2.pkg.tar.7z
 1197 lesstif-0.94.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1149 tcl-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1133 tk-8.4.9-1.pkg.tar.7z
 1121 fortune-mod-9708-1.pkg.tar.7z
  969 doxygen-1.4.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  961 libxml2-2.6.19-1.pkg.tar.7z
  953 ncurses-5.4-2.pkg.tar.7z
  949 xfce4-icon-theme-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  945 xmms-1.2.10-3.pkg.tar.7z
  861 heimdal-0.6.3-3.pkg.tar.7z
  793 xfce4-session-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  781 libgphoto2-2.1.5-1.pkg.tar.7z
  781 flashplugin-7.0.25.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
  745 hpijs-1.7.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  725 t1lib-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
  693 pygtk-2.6.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  669 nedit-5.5-1.pkg.tar.7z
  665 pan-0.14.2.91-2.pkg.tar.7z
  553 xpdf-3.00-7.pkg.tar.7z
  549 bmp-0.9.7-1.pkg.tar.7z
  529 db-4.3.27-2.pkg.tar.7z
  481 lynx-2.8.5-2.pkg.tar.7z
  464 freetype2-2.1.9-2.pkg.tar.7z
  452 xfwm4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  432 dbus-0.23.2-3.pkg.tar.7z
  404 foomatic-2.0.3-2.pkg.tar.7z
  388 libxfcegui4-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  376 lftp-3.1.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
  364 vte-0.11.11-4.pkg.tar.7z
  360 flac-1.1.2-2.pkg.tar.7z
  348 libtiff-3.7.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
  348 prelink-20041123-1.pkg.tar.7z
  336 xfce4-panel-4.2.1.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  332 pango-1.8.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  328 pilot-link-0.11.8-3.pkg.tar.7z
  324 tunepimp-0.3.0-3.pkg.tar.7z
  324 lincity-1.12.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  324 timidity++-2.13.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
  312 divx4linux-5.10-3.pkg.tar.7z
  296 pacman-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar.7z
  292 xfwm4-themes-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  288 bash-3.0-6.pkg.tar.7z
  260 fftw-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
  260 xfce-utils-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  256 pam-0.79-1.pkg.tar.7z
  252 xfprint-4.2.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
  244 libvorbis-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
  244 xfce4-weather-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar.7z

  240 xfce-mcs-plugins-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  236 libxslt-1.1.14-1.pkg.tar.7z
  232 lame-3.96.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
  232 faad2-devel-2.0.cvs20040915-1.pkg.tar.7z
  232 feh-1.2.9-1.pkg.tar.7z
  232 ppp-2.4.3-1.pkg.tar.7z
  224 hwd-4.1.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
  216 libpng-1.2.8-1.pkg.tar.7z
  216 tar-1.15.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  204 libsndfile-1.0.11-1.pkg.tar.7z
  204 libtool-1.5.14-1.pkg.tar.7z
  204 file-4.13-1.pkg.tar.7z
  200 libgcrypt-1.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  196 faad2-2.0-5.pkg.tar.7z
  196 reiserfsprogs-3.6.19-1.pkg.tar.7z
  196 fontconfig-2.3.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  196 libmikmod-3.1.11-1.pkg.tar.7z
  188 libmng-1.0.9-1.pkg.tar.7z
  184 jasper-1.701.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
  184 lm_sensors-2.9.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  172 readline-5.0-3.pkg.tar.7z
  172 librsvg-2.9.5-1.pkg.tar.7z
  172 lcms-1.14-1.pkg.tar.7z
  164 libcroco-0.6.0-2.pkg.tar.7z
  160 bison-2.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
  156 nano-1.2.4-3.pkg.tar.7z
  156 pornview-0.1.5-2.pkg.tar.7z
  156 rar-3.4.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  148 procps-3.2.5-1.pkg.tar.7z
  148 libjpeg-6b-3.pkg.tar.7z
  148 libgsf-1.11.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
  144 perlxml-2.34-3.pkg.tar.7z
  144 pcre-5.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
  140 hal-0.4.7-1.pkg.tar.7z
  136 jack-audio-connection-kit-0.99.0-2.pkg.tar.7z
  136 xfce-mcs-manager-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  132 tidyhtml-20040308-1.pkg.tar.7z
  132 taglib-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  124 libksba-0.9.9-1.pkg.tar.7z
  116 findutils-4.2.20-1.pkg.tar.7z
  116 foomatic-db-engine-3.0.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
  112 vorbis-tools-1.0.1-5.pkg.tar.7z
  112 nasm-0.98.39-1.pkg.tar.7z
  108 flex-2.5.31-2.pkg.tar.7z
  108 libidl2-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar.7z
  108 libmal-0.40-1.pkg.tar.7z
  108 libidn-0.5.15-1.pkg.tar.7z
  104 lua-5.0.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
  100 net-tools-1.60-9.pkg.tar.7z
  100 lilo-22.7-1.pkg.tar.7z
  100 libsamplerate-0.1.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
   96 raptor-1.3.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   96 freetype1-1.3.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
   96 libidl-0.6.8-1.pkg.tar.7z
   96 pth-2.0.3-1.pkg.tar.7z
   92 xfce4-appfinder-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   92 pciutils-2.1.11-3.pkg.tar.7z
   92 libungif-4.1.3-1.pkg.tar.7z
   92 xfce4-mixer-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   92 libglade-2.5.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   92 libtheora-1.0alpha4-1.pkg.tar.7z
   88 libpcap-0.8.3-1.pkg.tar.7z
   80 libexif-0.6.9-1.pkg.tar.7z
   80 normalize-0.7.6-1.pkg.tar.7z
   80 libart-lgpl-2.3.17-1.pkg.tar.7z
   76 ripperx-2.6.4-1.pkg.tar.7z
   76 libxfce4util-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   72 less-382-2.pkg.tar.7z
   72 libtasn1-0.2.13-1.pkg.tar.7z
   72 libmad-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar.7z
   68 pinentry-0.7.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   68 fam-2.7.0-3.pkg.tar.7z
   60 dvd+rw-tools-5.21.4.10.8-2.pkg.tar.7z
   60 zlib-1.2.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
   60 libelf-0.8.5-1.pkg.tar.7z
   60 faac-1.24-1.pkg.tar.7z
   60 zip-2.3-3.pkg.tar.7z
   56 dirmngr-0.5.6-1.pkg.tar.7z
   56 dialog-1.0-3.pkg.tar.7z
   56 libcdaudio-0.99.10-1.pkg.tar.7z
   52 libieee1284-0.2.8-1.pkg.tar.7z
   52 tcp_wrappers-7.6-6.pkg.tar.7z
   52 rxvt-2.6.4-2.pkg.tar.7z
   52 rdesktop-1.3.1-3.pkg.tar.7z
   52 ratpoison-1.3.0-2.pkg.tar.7z
   48 docbook-xml-4.1.2-2.pkg.tar.7z
   48 foomatic-filters-3.0.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
   48 bin86-0.16.16-1.pkg.tar.7z
   48 bzip2-1.0.3-1.pkg.tar.7z
   48 libid3tag-0.15.1b-1.pkg.tar.7z
   48 xfcalendar-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   44 pkgconfig-0.16.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   44 xfce4-iconbox-4.2.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   44 psutils-p17-3.pkg.tar.7z
   40 xfce4-xkb-plugin-0.3.2-2.pkg.tar.7z
   40 fakeroot-1.2.2-2.pkg.tar.7z
   40 psmisc-21.6-1.pkg.tar.7z
   40 xfce4-toys-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   40 lzop-1.01-3.pkg.tar.7z
   40 tpctl-4.15-1.pkg.tar.7z
   36 libxfce4mcs-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   36 fribidi-0.10.4-1.pkg.tar.7z
   36 lzo-1.08-1.pkg.tar.7z
   32 libraw1394-1.1.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   32 libtar-1.2.11-2.pkg.tar.7z
   32 desktop-file-utils-0.10-1.pkg.tar.7z
   28 ladspa-1.12-2.pkg.tar.7z
   28 hotplug-2004_09_23-4.pkg.tar.7z
   28 xfce4-wavelan-plugin-0.4.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   28 devfsd-1.3.25-4.pkg.tar.7z
   24 xfce4-netload-plugin-0.3.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   24 libmusepack-1.0.3.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
   24 liblrdf-0.3.7-1.pkg.tar.7z
   24 libgpg-error-1.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   24 pmount-0.6-1.pkg.tar.7z
   24 xfce4-notes-plugin-0.10.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   24 libassuan-0.6.7-1.pkg.tar.7z
   24 dbh-1.0.24-1.pkg.tar.7z
   20 xfce4-battery-plugin-0.2.0-3.pkg.tar.7z
   20 xfce4-trigger-launcher-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
   20 xmms-musepack-1.1.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
   20 xfce4-systemload-plugin-0.3.6-1.pkg.tar.7z
   20 namcap-1.5.2.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
   20 libao-0.8.6-1.pkg.tar.7z
   20 xfce4-diskperf-plugin-1.5-2.pkg.tar.7z
   20 dhcpcd-1.3.22pl4-4.pkg.tar.7z
   20 xmms-mad-0.7-1.pkg.tar.7z
   20 libcap-1.10-1.pkg.tar.7z
   20 libogg-1.1.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
   20 libusb-0.1.8-5.pkg.tar.7z
   16 xfce4-cpugraph-plugin-0.2.2-2.pkg.tar.7z
   16 xfce4-sensors-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   16 portmap-5beta-9.pkg.tar.7z
   16 dcron-2.9-2.pkg.tar.7z
   16 xfce4-fsguard-plugin-0.2.0-2.pkg.tar.7z
   12 xfce4-showdesktop-plugin-0.4.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
   12 xfce4-windowlist-plugin-0.1.0-2.pkg.tar.7z
   12 xfce4-datetime-plugin-0.3.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
   12 xfce4-taskbar-plugin-0.2.2-1.pkg.tar.7z
   12 xfce4-minicmd-plugin-0.3.0-1.pkg.tar.7z
    8 xfce4-clipman-plugin-0.4.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
    8 xmms-cdparanoia-0.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
    8 netselect-0.3-1.pkg.tar.7z
    8 xfce4-xmms-plugin-0.1.1-2.pkg.tar.7z
    8 xfce4-systray-4.2.1-1.pkg.tar.7z
    4 rpm2targz-9.0-s1.pkg.tar.7z
    4 filesystem-0.7-5.pkg.tar.7z
    4 rpmunpack-0-1.pkg.tar.7z

"To be a Spartan is to be a philosopher much more than to be an athlete."
Plato, the <i>Protagoras</i>, 342e-343a

Offline

#9 2005-04-18 22:07:09

i3839
Member
Registered: 2004-02-04
Posts: 1,185

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

So, to sum it up, how much in percents does it matter in size and compression time for all those packages together?

Offline

#10 2005-04-19 21:32:13

droog
Member
Registered: 2004-11-18
Posts: 877

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

i've been using p7zip in makepkg for awhile for zip file sources, the only problem that i've found is that the configure script loses the executable bit and i have to add chmod +x $startdir/src/$pkgname-$pkgver/configure or whatever in the pkgbuild to get it working, but its great not having to deal with seperate programs for rar arj zip et al. but symlinks and permissions arent respected by p7zip so its kind of worthless for what you are thinking as some packages have symlinks in them and almost all have executables in them.

Offline

#11 2005-04-19 22:48:37

poetofnumbers
Member
From: Kansas, United States
Registered: 2004-10-30
Posts: 106
Website

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

In case you want to do a more statistically rigorous study on compression size ratios or compression time, I'd be willing to donate my time and knowledge to do the analysis and help setup the experiment.

Sweet, now I can play with myself.

Offline

#12 2005-04-19 23:14:20

i3839
Member
Registered: 2004-02-04
Posts: 1,185

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

Don't bother, Arch will stay using gzip for quite a while.

Better to spend your resources on benchmarking other things, like different kernel/filesystem/pacman/firefox/other software versions.

Offline

#13 2005-04-20 20:10:45

vande198
Member
From: East Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: 2003-09-12
Posts: 98

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

While it is true that 7zip can't do symlinks or the executable bit, you can retain those characteristics (I believe) via tarfiles without compromising the compression ratio.

If you want to do more scientific benchmarks, go ahead.  It's a misnomer that you would be "wasting" your time by finding out new information.  If you're interested in it, it's not really a waste, is it?

"To be a Spartan is to be a philosopher much more than to be an athlete."
Plato, the <i>Protagoras</i>, 342e-343a

Offline

#14 2005-04-23 15:45:19

poetofnumbers
Member
From: Kansas, United States
Registered: 2004-10-30
Posts: 106
Website

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

I realize that a statistical analysis at this time would be less valuable than one done later.  I just wanted to make it know that my services were available.  In doing an analysis, I would need to know that the method of selecting packages in order to check this method was truly random.  Then all I would need is the data from the experiment, which could be emailed to me at "acousino@math.ksu.edu".

Sweet, now I can play with myself.

Offline

#15 2005-04-24 13:32:31

iphitus
Forum Fellow
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2004-10-09
Posts: 4,927

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

Dont forget, a Pentium 2, 300mhz (aka my old computer) is i686. And when extracting say the kernel, i saw a very noticable difference in speed between the gz and bz2 copies

a matter of minutes too

Offline

#16 2005-05-06 21:36:06

Arielext
Member
From: Amersfoort, the Netherlands
Registered: 2002-08-12
Posts: 362
Website

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

Yeah, my server is a P-III 500 and installing the monthly updates takes some time, but it's worth it.

though I think my internet speed (3mbit) exceeds the decompression speed of the machine ... smile

possible to choose which typ you want
example:
- fast processor slow internet -> 7zip
- slow proccesor fast internet -> gzip

nice feature for the install module of arch, how fast is your internet today?®

apt-get install arch

Offline

#17 2005-05-19 01:41:33

Alucard
Banned
Registered: 2005-01-23
Posts: 13

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

using 7zip would probably increase speed in application, since it would significantly decrease the time it took to download the files, the decompression speeds would be negated, if not decrease the overall time.

My tiny repo

[alucard]
http://www.metawire.org/~alucard/pkgs

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#18 2005-05-19 06:06:18

cactus
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Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

I don't think the difference would be that significant, and 7zip is still a bit buggy from what I hear. I don't see why a change in the underlying compression format is needed right now.

[*] saying it will make the application faster because it will download faster is not always true. If you mirror a repository locally, then 7zip will take longer to install packages, because the compression is more cpu intensive. Slower application in that case.

[*] pacman is the package manager. pacman was written to be portable. tar is probably the most portable archive format. I am not sure what architectures 7zip is portable to.

[*] I believe pacman uses c api calls for tar compression, not external calls to the tar application. This would make more work, and potentially render all current packages useless.

If, however, a new package format was chosen, it might be a good time to change the package extension. Since not everyone would know what a .7z extension meant (one of the arguments for keeping the .tar extension for packages i because they are easily identifiable, and people can just extract them and check them out), it might be a good idea to change the extension to .pac or something at that point.

Weighing the potential benefit vs the cost of implementation and change to a foundational underlying component would require extremely careful consideration.....Much more than, "Look it is smaller! w00t!"

*shrug*

"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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#19 2005-05-19 07:40:36

iphitus
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From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2004-10-09
Posts: 4,927

Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

cactus wrote:

I don't think the difference would be that significant, and
[*] pacman is the package manager. pacman was written to be portable. tar is probably the most portable archive format. I am not sure what architectures 7zip is portable to.

If, however, a new package format was chosen, it might be a good time to change the package extension. Since not everyone would know what a .7z extension meant (one of the arguments for keeping the .tar extension for packages i because they are easily identifiable, and people can just extract them and check them out), it might be a good idea to change the extension to .pac or something at that point.


*shrug*

you do realise that pacman's tar.gz's are tarballed, and then use gzip to compress them?

as for the extension, i believe it should always just reflect the format it's compressed in, so if it's tarred and then 7z'ed tar.7z or whatever. or if it's flat out 7z'ed .7z.

gzip is a perfectly fine compression format that acheives a reasonable balance betweem size and speed. I really dont see the need to move to another one just because it's more hip or cool, faster or smaller. gzip seems a happy medium.

As for implementation of another compression format, it wouldnt be too complex to implement. it certainly wouldnt be to complex to implement it to support multiple formats, its not hard to check the extension and then utilise the correct decompression routine. and I definitely dont have a problem with making large packages like wine or the kernel .bz2, it would be worth it to save some bandwidth. so long as its not everything.

And for those who think we should use something else instead of gzip because speed isnt a problem nowadays -- i686 goes back to the Pentium II's, of which I have a PII 300mhz, it was my primary desktop, but now its my server, and its running Arch.

I tell you what, when i want to compile a kernel on it, i dread the first step. untarring it. bzip2's were much more worse than gz's and took many *minutes* more to decompress. I tended to go and get a good beverage and return.

Make that 100mb worth of packages and i reckon my weekly syu on that box would take at least another half hour.

iphitus

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#20 2005-05-19 08:19:23

cactus
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From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
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Re: Arch Package 7zip, Bzip2, Gzip comparison (newer one below)

iphitus wrote:

you do realise that pacman's tar.gz's are tarballed, and then use gzip to compress them?

Hmm. I didn't. I though pacman was just calling zlib code or something and doing it internally. Good thing I had qualified my original statement with *I believe*. Funny that..

"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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