********* ARCHIVE COMPARISON TEST (A.C.T.) - DECEMBER 1996 ********** * Author: JEFF GILCHRIST * * A.C.T. released since September 1992. * *********************************************************************** * A.C.T. may be re-posted or distributed only if the contents are * * not changed under any circumstances and the contents are posted * * in their entirety. * *********************************************************************** ########################### PLEASE READ ############################### A.C.T. is now on the World Wide Web (WWW)! It can be accessed at: *** NEW WEB SITE *** http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/4264/act.html This is the best way to view A.C.T. since it is in a graphical format and most authors have a link to their e-mail address. There are also links to FTP sites to download most of the archivers. Finally, there is a link to my e-mail address to send me any comments or suggestions. ####################################################################### The following is a test I did on several archivers to compare their performance against others. For the following tests with single file types, I used a 486DX4-75 with 20 megabytes of RAM. No disk CACHE was used at all! For the timing, Ultra Precision Command Timer v1.6 by Erik de Neve was used. The operating system used was DOS 6.22. I compressed the tested files from my hard drive to a 2 megabyte RAM drive. LEGEND OF SYMBOLS USED ---------------------- + = Indicates a new version of the software tested since the last posting of these tests. - = Indicates the version of the software tested will be removed from the listing next month. * = Indicates the version of the software tested has changed either in speed or compression size since the previous month. 8 = Indicates the archiver was tested using 8 megabytes of RAM. B = Indicates the archiver with the best compression O = Indicates the archiver with the best speed/compression ratio F = Indicates the archiver with the fastest compression Q = Indicates the archiver with the quickest extraction Timing is displayed in the format: minutes:seconds.tenths_of_a_second +------------------------------------+ | PART 1 - SINGLE FILE TESTS | +------------------------------------+ TEXT File Test - Uncompressed Size 768,771 bytes CREATION ARCHIVER SWITCHES TIME COMPRESSED SIZE RATIO -------- -------- -------- --------------- ----- B RKIVE 1.4 -mt 1:01.8 219,676 bytes 71.4% X1 0.94m ->X xem4l2 0:34.0 219,691 bytes 71.4% X1 0.94m ->X xem3 0:35.3 219,827 bytes 71.4% RKIVE 1.4 -mtx 1:31.5 219,917 bytes 71.4% ACB 1.26a (u)f 3:39.3 224,001 bytes 70.9% ACB 1.23c (u)f 3:51.9 224,527 bytes 70.8% ACB 1.26a (b)f 2:30.8 226,422 bytes 70.5% ACB 1.23c (b)f 2:30.0 226,610 bytes 70.5% 8 ACB 1.14a (b)f 2:36.8 227,416 bytes 70.4% BZIP 0.21 (none) 0:32.1 230,247 bytes 70.0% ACB 1.26a (B)f 1:46.0 231,353 bytes 69.9% HA 0.999b e2 0:34.8 235,767 bytes 69.3% BZIP 0.21 -5 0:30.4 240,630 bytes 68.7% ACB 1.23c (B)f 1:15.7 241,251 bytes 68.6% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 -++ 0:46.7 244,049 bytes 68.3% X1 0.94m ->X xem7 0:17.7 250,124 bytes 67.5% RKIVE 1.4 -mb 0:52.1 252,321 bytes 67.2% CODEC 3.21 -c10 0:42.4 252,375 bytes 67.2% + JAR32 1.01c -m4 0:22.3 258,498 bytes 66.4% - JAR32 1.01beta -m4 0:21.1 258,511 bytes 66.4% + JAR32 1.01c -m3 0:20.5 258,526 bytes 66.4% - JAR32 1.01beta -m3 0:20.7 258,528 bytes 66.4% + JAR32 1.01c (none) 0:18.0 259,627 bytes 66.2% - JAR32 1.01beta (none) 0:18.3 259,647 bytes 66.2% O HAP 4.03 3 0:13.2 260,103 bytes 66.2% HAP 3.05bp (none) 0:18.3 260,103 bytes 66.2% RKIVE 1.4 -mf 0:37.5 260,710 bytes 66.1% X1 0.94m ->X xem6l2 5:21.6 262,719 bytes 65.8% QUANTUM 0.97 -c7 -t20 29:40.3 263,747 bytes 65.7% - JAR 1.01beta -m3 0:27.6 271,894 bytes 64.6% + JAR 1.01c -m4 0:26.3 271,894 bytes 64.6% - JAR 1.01beta -m4 0:27.7 271,895 bytes 64.6% + JAR 1.01c -m3 0:26.2 271,905 bytes 64.6% QUANTUM 0.97 -c5 11:03.7 271,960 bytes 64.6% - JAR 1.01beta (none) 0:23.9 274,722 bytes 64.3% + JAR 1.01c (none) 0:22.4 274,724 bytes 64.3% WinRAR 2.0 -m5 -md512 1:50.4 279,704 bytes 63.6% WinRAR 2.0 -m5 -md256 1:25.2 284,230 bytes 63.0% QUANTUM 0.97 -c3 -t20 2:00.1 284,721 bytes 63.0% QUANTUM 0.97 (none) 1:44.8 287,179 bytes 62.6% WinRAR 2.0 -md512 0:27.7 293,003 bytes 61.9% HPACK 0.79a0 -df 0:49.7 299,072 bytes 61.1% ARI 1.14c -m5 -hz30 3:08.9 299,997 bytes 61.0% ARI 1.14c -m5 -t16 3:02.8 300,037 bytes 61.0% RAR 2.0 -m5 0:30.1 301,306 bytes 60.8% ARJZ 0.15 -mp9 -jh 0:27.9 301,771 bytes 60.7% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Max Compress) 0:36.6 302,022 bytes 60.7% UC v2.37 beta (Max Compress) 0:35.5 302,026 bytes 60.7% LHARK 0.3o -tob 0:31.7 302,820 bytes 60.6% ARJZ 0.15 (none) 0:18.6 304,182 bytes 60.4% ARI 1.14c -m3 -hz30 1:16.8 304,197 bytes 60.4% RAR 2.0 (none) 0:16.6 305,914 bytes 60.2% YAC 1.02 (none) 0:36.1 306,697 bytes 60.1% LHARK 0.3o (none) 0:14.7 309,326 bytes 59.8% LIMIT 1.2 -mx 0:21.6 310,872 bytes 59.6% LIMIT 1.2 (none) 0:20.1 311,187 bytes 59.5% AMGC 2.3 (Max) 0:49.0 311,274 bytes 59.5% SUPERPACK 2.0 (Max) 0:49.3 311,274 bytes 59.5% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Extra) 0:11.5 311,317 bytes 59.5% UC v2.37 beta (Default) 0:16.4 311,412 bytes 59.5% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Default) 0:17.4 311,412 bytes 59.5% HA 0.999b e1 0:27.1 312,016 bytes 59.4% SQZ 1.08.3 -q(ALT236) 0:26.9 312,330 bytes 59.4% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -9 -j 0:17.6 312,371 bytes 59.4% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Max Compress) 0:18.3 312,371 bytes 59.4% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -9 -j 0:17.9 312,395 bytes 59.4% PKZIP 2.04g -ex 0:15.1 312,604 bytes 59.3% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Norm) 0:08.8 312,913 bytes 59.3% GZIP 1.2.4 -9 0:23.5 312,915 bytes 59.3% LHA 2.67(Win32) -wd:\ 0:21.4 313,166 bytes 59.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -j 0:14.3 313,466 bytes 59.2% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -j 0:14.4 313,490 bytes 59.2% CODEC 3.21 (none) 0:16.2 313,787 bytes 59.2% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 (none) 0:19.1 314,138 bytes 59.1% + ESP 1.5 /m0 0:11.9 314,270 bytes 59.1% - AIN 2.30 /m1 0:10.9 314,299 bytes 59.1% + AIN 2.32 /m1 0:11.3 314,299 bytes 59.1% GZIP 1.2.4 (none) 0:18.8 314,443 bytes 59.2% SQZ 1.08.3 (none) 0:18.6 315,028 bytes 59.0% PKZIP 2.04g (none) 0:10.4 316,113 bytes 58.9% QUARK 1.0beta (none) 0:18.0 317,195 bytes 58.7% + ESP 1.5 /m2 0:09.5 317,629 bytes 58.7% - AIN 2.30 (none) 0:08.7 317,660 bytes 58.7% + AIN 2.32 (none) 0:09.1 317,660 bytes 58.7% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Normal Comp) 0:10.7 318,344 bytes 58.6% ARJ 2.50a -jm -e 0:17.4 318,939 bytes 58.5% ARJ 2.55b -jm -e 0:17.9 318,939 bytes 58.5% ARJ 2.50a -e 0:16.2 319,163 bytes 58.5% ARJ 2.55b -e 0:16.7 319,163 bytes 58.5% + ZIPSERVER 2.12 (none) 0:12.5 319,450 bytes 58.4% SUPERPACK 2.0 (Normal) 0:15.4 327,641 bytes 57.4% AMGC 2.3 (Normal) 0:15.6 327,641 bytes 57.4% NULIB 3.24 c5 0:05.9 334,187 bytes 56.5% LHA 2.55b -we: 0:17.4 339,110 bytes 55.9% AR 1.10 (none) 0:32.4 339,110 bytes 55.9% SAR 1.0 (none) 0:32.3 339,118 bytes 55.9% ZOO 2.10 h: 0:30.9 339,245 bytes 55.9% CROSSEPAC 1.35 Format=Binary 0:29.9 339,419 bytes 55.8% PUT 3.41 (none) 0:22.4 339,642 bytes 55.8% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 5) 0:19.7 340,046 bytes 55.8% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 9) 0:20.4 340,046 bytes 55.8% HYPER 2.6 (none) 0:09.9 345,887 bytes 55.0% PAK 2.51 (none) 0:10.8 347,608 bytes 54.8% JAM - Aug1996 (none) 0:06.9 351,720 bytes 54.2% CRUSHER 3.12 (none) 0:37.0 352,950 bytes 54.1% DWC 5.10 z 0:07.7 362,629 bytes 52.8% + PKARC 3.5 (none) 0:04.4 364,069 bytes 52.6% SQWEZ 2.2 /s 0:33.0 365,224 bytes 52.5% ARX 1.0 (none) 0:14.4 369,545 bytes 51.9% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 (none) 0:11.0 370,868 bytes 51.8% F PKZIP 2.04g -es 0:04.1 372,386 bytes 51.6% DWC 5.10 (none) 0:08.1 380,299 bytes 50.5% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sh 0:13.3 391,252 bytes 49.1% PGMPAK 0.13 (none) 0:08.6 391,510 bytes 49.1% MDCD 1.0 (none) 0:05.8 391,703 bytes 49.0% ZOO 2.10 : 0:13.2 391,750 bytes 49.0% SPLINT 2.1 (none) 0:17.8 416,191 bytes 45.9% JRCHIVE 1.10 -v 0:09.6 416,982 bytes 45.8% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 -m 0:08.0 417,005 bytes 45.8% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sm 0:11.3 418,014 bytes 45.6% ARC 6.02 (none) 0:05.4 418,511 bytes 45.6% LARC 3.33 (none) 0:10.2 424,186 bytes 44.8% GAS 2.0 (none) 2:00.7 438,688 bytes 42.9% NULIB 3.24 (none) 0:07.0 454,304 bytes 40.9% Winner for best compression : RKIVE 1.4 Winner for fastest compression: PKZIP 2.04g Winner for best overall : HAP 4.03 EXE File Test - Uncompressed Size 425,488 bytes CREATION ARCHIVER SWITCHES TIME COMPRESSED SIZE RATIO -------- -------- -------- --------------- ----- B RKIVE 1.4 -mb 0:30.2 92,203 bytes 78.3% ARI 1.14c -m5 -hz30 2:21.7 92,744 bytes 78.2% ARI 1.14c -m5 -t16 2:18.1 92,955 bytes 78.2% O ARI 1.14c -m3 -hz30 0:25.7 93,551 bytes 78.0% RKIVE 1.4 -mtx 0:43.9 93,603 bytes 78.0% RKIVE 1.4 -mt 0:36.4 94,301 bytes 77.8% ACB 1.26a (u)f 1:00.0 96,462 bytes 77.3% ACB 1.23c (u)f 1:01.7 96,598 bytes 77.3% ACB 1.26a (b)f 0:43.9 96,648 bytes 77.3% ACB 1.23c (b)f 0:42.8 96,866 bytes 77.2% RKIVE 1.4 -mf 0:22.3 96,886 bytes 77.2% ACB 1.26a (B)f 0:32.3 97,060 bytes 77.2% QUANTUM 0.97 -c7 -t20 11:00.2 97,105 bytes 77.2% QUANTUM 0.97 -c5 3:46.5 97,315 bytes 77.1% ACB 1.14a f 0:43.7 97,897 bytes 77.0% ACB 1.23c (B)f 0:23.3 98,389 bytes 76.9% RAR 2.0 -m5 0:14.7 98,576 bytes 76.8% WinRAR 2.0 -m5 -md256 0:22.2 98,734 bytes 76.8% + JAR 1.01c -m4 0:22.2 99,058 bytes 76.7% + JAR 1.01c -m3 0:22.2 99,060 bytes 76.7% - JAR 1.01beta -m3 0:23.7 99,063 bytes 76.7% - JAR 1.01beta -m4 0:23.7 99,064 bytes 76.7% - JAR 1.01beta (none) 0:16.9 99,192 bytes 76.7% + JAR 1.01c (none) 0:15.5 99,200 bytes 76.7% - JAR32 1.01beta -m4 0:16.7 99,433 bytes 76.6% - JAR32 1.01beta -m3 0:16.7 99,435 bytes 76.6% + JAR32 1.01c -m4 0:16.7 99,439 bytes 76.6% + JAR32 1.01c -m3 0:16.4 99,442 bytes 76.6% WinRAR 2.0 -md256 0:06.6 99,760 bytes 76.6% - JAR32 1.01beta (none) 0:11.2 99,876 bytes 76.6% + JAR32 1.01c (none) 0:11.4 99,886 bytes 76.6% X1 0.94m ->X xem1 0:18.1 101,410 bytes 76.2% 8 YAC 1.02 (none) 0:17.2 101,419 bytes 76.2% QUANTUM 0.97 (none) 0:25.2 101,443 bytes 76.2% YAC 1.02 (none) 0:19.9 101,448 bytes 76.2% QUANTUM 0.97 -c3 -t20 0:26.4 101,456 bytes 76.2% HA 0.999b e1 0:14.2 101,496 bytes 76.1% QUARK 1.0beta (none) 0:18.5 103,213 bytes 75.7% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Max Compress) 0:27.2 103,488 bytes 75.7% UC v2.37 beta (Max Compress) 0:26.6 103,508 bytes 75.7% LIMIT 1.2 -mx 0:13.1 103,645 bytes 75.6% CODEC 3.21 (none) 0:04.9 103,710 bytes 75.6% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Extra) 0:05.0 103,793 bytes 75.6% SUPER PACK 2.0 (Max) 0:21.6 103,806 bytes 75.6% AMGC 2.3 (Max) 0:21.8 103,806 bytes 75.6% LHARK 0.3o -tob 0:08.7 103,828 bytes 75.6% GZIP 1.2.4 -9 0:18.2 103,832 bytes 75.6% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Max Compress) 0:15.9 103,929 bytes 75.6% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -9 -j 0:15.8 103,929 bytes 75.6% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -9 -j 0:15.6 103,953 bytes 75.6% LIMIT 1.2 (none) 0:04.8 104,147 bytes 75.5% PKZIP 2.04g -ex 0:06.7 104,249 bytes 75.5% LHARK 0.3o (none) 0:03.4 104,500 bytes 75.4% + ESP 1.5 /m0 0:05.2 104,830 bytes 75.4% - AIN 2.30 /m1 0:04.3 104,858 bytes 75.4% + AIN 2.32 /m1 0:04.7 104,858 bytes 75.4% ARJ 2.50a -jm -e 0:14.7 104,976 bytes 75.3% ARJ 2.55b -jm -e 0:15.3 104,976 bytes 75.3% BSArc 2.0.0 -+1 0:17.7 105,024 bytes 75.3% SQZ 1.08.3 -q(ALT236) 0:30.2 105,088 bytes 75.3% ARJZ 0.15 -mp9 0:14.3 105,120 bytes 75.3% GZIP 1.2.4 (none) 0:05.9 105,196 bytes 75.2% LHA 2.67(Win32) -wd:\ 0:06.7 105,214 bytes 75.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -j 0:04.6 105,402 bytes 75.2% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -j 0:04.6 105,478 bytes 75.2% + ESP 1.5 /m2 0:04.4 105,488 bytes 75.2% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Default) 0:06.8 105,514 bytes 75.2% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Norm) 0:02.2 105,515 bytes 75.2% - AIN 2.30 (none) 0:03.6 105,515 bytes 75.2% + AIN 2.32 (none) 0:04.0 105,515 bytes 75.2% UC v2.37 beta (Default) 0:06.4 105,544 bytes 75.2% PKZIP 2.04g (none) 0:04.3 105,547 bytes 75.2% ARJ 2.50a -e 0:05.5 105,646 bytes 75.2% ARJ 2.55b -e 0:06.3 105,646 bytes 75.2% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 (none) 0:05.1 105,732 bytes 75.2% PUT 3.41 (none) 0:09.7 105,863 bytes 75.1% + ZIPSERVER 2.12 (none) 0:03.7 105,900 bytes 75.1% LHA 2.55b -we: 0:07.1 105,949 bytes 75.1% AR 1.10 (none) 0:14.8 105,949 bytes 75.1% SAR 1.0 (none) 0:13.9 105,957 bytes 75.1% ARJZ 0.15 (none) 0:04.4 105,995 bytes 75.1% SQZ 1.08.3 (none) 0:05.5 106,023 bytes 75.1% ZOO 2.10 h: 0:13.2 106,084 bytes 75.1% CROSSEPAC 1.35 Format=Binary 0:12.4 106,258 bytes 75.0% CODEC 3.21 -c10 0:38.4 106,498 bytes 75.0% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Normal Comp) 0:03.9 106,527 bytes 75.0% BZIP 0.21 (none) 0:15.6 106,740 bytes 74.9% CRUSHER 3.12 (none) 0:13.4 106,998 bytes 74.9% HPACK 0.79a0 -df 2:38.2 107,956 bytes 74.6% AMGC 2.3 (Normal) 0:04.4 108,673 bytes 74.5% SUPER PACK 2.0 (Normal) 0:05.3 108,673 bytes 74.5% X1 0.94m ->X xem6l2 8:38.3 108,708 bytes 74.5% HYPER 2.6 (none) 0:04.6 109,587 bytes 74.2% X1 0.94m ->X xem6l2 0:10.3 111,433 bytes 73.8% SQWEZ 2.2 /s 0:17.1 112,393 bytes 73.6% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 9) 0:11.6 112,436 bytes 73.6% HA 0.999b e2 0:39.7 113,013 bytes 73.4% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 5) 0:09.8 113,439 bytes 73.3% HAP 4.03 3 0:11.4 113,738 bytes 73.3% HAP 3.05bp (none) 0:20.0 113,738 bytes 73.3% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 (none) 0:10.2 114,456 bytes 73.1% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sh 0:11.4 114,474 bytes 73.1% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sm 0:08.5 115,379 bytes 72.9% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 -m 0:05.5 117,841 bytes 72.3% X1 0.94m ->X xem4 0:37.3 118,101 bytes 72.2% PGMPAK 0.13 (none) 0:07.9 118,472 bytes 72.2% ARX 1.0 (none) 0:11.0 118,701 bytes 72.1% F PKZIP 2.04g -es 0:02.5 122,592 bytes 71.2% PAK 2.51 (none) 0:06.8 122,829 bytes 71.1% LARC 3.33 (none) 0:06.6 145,522 bytes 65.8% JAM - Aug1996 (none) 0:04.0 146,269 bytes 65.6% DWC 5.10 (none) 0:03.9 157,188 bytes 63.1% JRCHIVE 1.10 -v 0:05.3 157,909 bytes 63.1% MDCD 1.0 (none) 0:03.5 158,402 bytes 62.8% ZOO 2.10 : 0:07.5 158,449 bytes 62.8% NULIB 3.24 (none) 0:03.5 158,955 bytes 62.6% DWC 5.10 z 0:04.3 159,263 bytes 62.6% + PKARC 3.5 (none) 0:02.9 159,751 bytes 62.5% ARC 6.02 (none) 0:03.0 161,589 bytes 62.0% NULIB 3.24 c5 0:03.5 163,706 bytes 61.5% SPLINT 2.1 (none) 0:08.9 167,333 bytes 60.7% GAS 2.0 (none) 1:04.8 219,528 bytes 48.4% + DPA 1.1a (none) 0:10.1 229,567 bytes 46.0% Winner for best compression : RKIVE 1.4 Winner for fastest compression: PKZIP 2.04g Winner for best overall : ARI 1.14c EXE Pack File Test - Uncompressed Size 341,444 bytes The EXE Pack test compares programs that compress .EXE files and still allows them to execute. The .EXE file used in this test is GWS.EXE found in The Graphic Workshop v7.0e by Alchemy Mindworks Inc. The UNCOMP. TIME data shows the amount of time it takes to uncompress and run the executable file. This time was calculated using a utility called BENCH 0.01beta written by Michal Weis (weis@elf.stuba.sk). The results for ACB, RAR and PKZIP are listed only to show how normal archivers compression ratios compare with EXE Packers. COMP. UNCOMP. ARCHIVER TIME TIME COMPRESSED SIZE RATIO OPTIONS -------- ----- ------- --------------- ----- ------- ACB 1.23c 66.70 N/A 118,656 bytes 65.2% N/A RAR 2.0 07.40 N/A 123,274 bytes 63.9% N/A PKZIP 2.04g 05.30 N/A 129,216 bytes 62.2% N/A B WWPACK 3.05b3 -v- 27.99 0.2103 125,422 bytes 63.3% U E P WWPACK 3.05b3 27.93 0.2103 125,447 bytes 63.3% U E P WWPACK 3.05b3 -f 27.18 0.1597 127,626 bytes 62.6% U E P O UCEXE 2.4 04.69 0.1609 129,141 bytes 62.2% U P - AINEXE 2.30 03.34 0.3374 132,014 bytes 61.3% + AINEXE 2.32 03.59 0.3374 132,014 bytes 61.3% XPACK 1.64 -4 11.01 1.5323 132,852 bytes 61.1% U E P Q COMPACK 4.5 05.66 0.0846 134,012 bytes 60.8% U AVPACK 1.22 03.70 0.1205 136,672 bytes 60.0% U E P XPACK 1.64 -5 04.82 0.1237 138,921 bytes 59.3% U E P PKLITE 2.01 03.93 0.1528 139,731 bytes 59.1% U E P RJCRUSH 1.10 03.72 0.1866 141,187 bytes 58.7% PGMPAK 0.13 08.61 N/A 142,560 bytes 58.2% DIET 1.45f 02.75 0.2128 142,771 bytes 58.2% U DIET 1.45f -g 02.75 0.1710 142,874 bytes 58.2% U LZEXE 0.91 03.93 0.1297 143,432 bytes 58.0% U P PACKWIN 1.0 03.91 0.1297 143,489 bytes 58.0% TINYPROG 3.9 16.83 0.1209 144,080 bytes 57.8% E P F CRUNCH 1.0 02.32 1.7773 218,048 bytes 36.1% AXE 2.2 03.41 0.3932 248,365 bytes 36.1% Winner for best compression : WWPACK 3.05b3 Winner for fastest compression: CRUNCH 1.0 Winner for quickest extraction: COMPACK 4.5 Winner for best overall : UCEXE 2.4 OPTIONS: U - The EXE Packer has the ability to uncompress the .EXE file back into its original form. E - The EXE Packer has the ability to encrypt the .EXE file P - The EXE Packer has the ability to add error protection data so it can inform the user if the file has been changed in any way (ie: infected by a virus) 669 File Test - (8 bit, 8 Channel) Uncompressed Size 1,314,481 bytes CREATION ARCHIVER SWITCHES TIME COMPRESSED SIZE RATIO -------- -------- -------- --------------- ----- B RKIVE 1.4 -mf 1:58.5 589,446 bytes 55.2% RKIVE 1.4 -mt 2:27.4 591,465 bytes 55.0% RKIVE 1.4 -mtx 3:18.6 591,897 bytes 55.0% WinRAR 2.0 -m5 -mm -md1024 0:41.4 591,827 bytes 55.0% WinRAR 2.0 -m5 -mm 0:31.0 592,076 bytes 55.0% O RAR 2.0 -m5 -mm 0:24.1 592,549 bytes 54.9% RKIVE 1.4 -mb 2:37.0 593,034 bytes 54.9% WinRAR 2.0 -mm 0:21.5 593,036 bytes 54.9% HAP 4.03 3 0:28.0 620,685 bytes 52.8% ACB 1.26a (u)f 7:38.8 622,274 bytes 52.4% ACB 1.23c (u)f 7:57.7 625,053 bytes 52.4% X1 0.94m ->X xem3 1:52.5 626,228 bytes 52.4% X1 0.94m ->X xem4l2 1:57.3 628,286 bytes 52.2% ACB 1.26a (b)f 5:13.4 634,487 bytes 51.7% ACB 1.14a (b)f 5:39.3 636,132 bytes 51.6% HA 0.999b e2 2:06.2 636,442 bytes 51.6% ACB 1.23c (b)f 5:04.0 636,774 bytes 51.6% BZIP 0.21 -5 0:50.3 648,969 bytes 50.6% BZIP 0.21 (none) 0:52.8 651,273 bytes 50.5% ACB 1.26a (B)f 3:38.2 654,622 bytes 50.2% BSArc 2.0.0 -++ 2:28.9 659,941 bytes 49.8% CODEC 3.21 -c10 2:26.6 662,663 bytes 49.6% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Max Compress) 2:27.9 684,650 bytes 47.9% UC v2.37 beta (Max Compress) 2:26.8 684,772 bytes 47.9% HPACK 0.79a0 -df 2:33.5 691,175 bytes 47.4% ACB 1.23c (B)f 2:29.5 691,658 bytes 47.4% X1 0.94m ->X xem7 0:28.5 696,532 bytes 47.0% HAP 3.05bp (none) 0:56.2 704,531 bytes 46.4% QUANTUM 0.97 -c7 -t20 101:05.3 714,809 bytes 45.6% QUANTUM 0.97 -c5 55:40.0 719,128 bytes 45.3% ARI 1.14c -m5 -hz30 5:33.8 735,456 bytes 44.0% ARI 1.14c -m5 -t16 5:28.8 735,568 bytes 44.0% ARI 1.14c -m3 -hz30 2:24.6 736,684 bytes 44.0% QUANTUM 0.97 -c3 -t20 3:14.3 738,137 bytes 43.8% QUANTUM 0.97 (none) 2:30.7 738,987 bytes 43.8% HA 0.999b e1 0:43.4 769,923 bytes 41.4% RAR 2.0 -m5 0:40.3 770,558 bytes 41.4% LIMIT 1.2 -mx 0:51.3 770,759 bytes 41.4% LIMIT 1.2 (none) 0:46.4 770,880 bytes 41.4% UC v2.37 beta (Default) 0:26.9 773,180 bytes 41.2% ARJZ 0.15 -mp9 0:37.4 773,318 bytes 41.2% RAR 2.0 (none) 0:24.7 773,527 bytes 41.2% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Default) 0:27.3 773,386 bytes 41.2% PKZIP 2.04g -ex 0:28.2 774,780 bytes 41.1% ARJZ 0.15 (none) 0:25.0 775,005 bytes 41.0% LHARK 0.3o -tob 0:50.4 775,226 bytes 41.0% LHA 2.67(Win32) -wd:\ 0:31.8 776,210 bytes 40.9% + ESP 1.5 /m0 0:21.6 776,583 bytes 40.9% - AIN 2.30 /m1 0:20.7 776,613 bytes 40.9% + AIN 2.32 /m1 0:21.2 776,613 bytes 40.9% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Extra) 0:21.2 777,503 bytes 40.9% SQZ 1.08.3 -q(ALT236) 0:38.6 778,244 bytes 40.8% SPLINT 2.1 (none) 0:34.0 778,534 bytes 40.8% - JAR32 1.01beta -m4 0:57.9 778,775 bytes 40.8% + JAR32 1.01c -m4 1:34.0 778,783 bytes 40.8% + JAR32 1.01c -m3 0:56.6 779,581 bytes 40.7% - JAR32 1.01beta -m3 0:57.2 779,581 bytes 40.7% GZIP 1.2.4 -9 0:35.3 779,706 bytes 40.7% + ESP 1.5 /m2 0:16.3 779,857 bytes 40.7% - AIN 2.30 (none) 0:15.4 779,886 bytes 40.7% + AIN 2.32 (none) 0:15.9 779,886 bytes 40.7% + ZIPSERVER 2.12 (none) 0:17.5 780,425 bytes 40.6% ARJ 2.50a -e 0:21.6 780,605 bytes 40.6% ARJ 2.55b -e 0:22.4 780,605 bytes 40.6% ARJ 2.50a -jm -e 0:25.3 780,662 bytes 40.6% ARJ 2.55b -jm -e 0:26.2 780,662 bytes 40.6% SQZ 1.08.3 (none) 0:26.0 780,831 bytes 40.6% QUARK 1.0beta (none) 0:26.3 780,863 bytes 40.6% GZIP 1.2.4 (none) 0:27.0 781,194 bytes 40.6% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Norm) 0:14.7 782,017 bytes 40.5% LHARK 0.3o (none) 0:22.9 782,482 bytes 40.5% PKZIP 2.04g (none) 0:18.6 782,772 bytes 40.5% - JAR32 1.01beta (none) 0:42.7 783,866 bytes 40.4% + JAR32 1.01c (none) 0:42.7 783,875 bytes 40.4% PUT 3.41 (none) 0:35.4 784,604 bytes 40.3% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 (none) 0:33.7 784,959 bytes 40.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -9 -j 0:26.7 785,102 bytes 40.3% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Max Compress) 0:30.1 785,102 bytes 40.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -9 -j 0:26.6 785,126 bytes 40.3% LHA 2.55b -we: 0:27.4 786,069 bytes 40.2% AR 1.10 (none) 0:53.8 786,069 bytes 40.2% SAR 1.0 (none) 0:52.8 786,077 bytes 40.2% ZOO 2.10 h: 0:49.6 786,204 bytes 40.2% CODEC 3.21 (none) 0:21.9 786,352 bytes 40.2% CROSSEPAC 1.35 Format=Binary 0:50.4 786,378 bytes 40.2% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -j 0:20.2 786,760 bytes 40.1% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -j 0:20.6 786,784 bytes 40.1% AMGC 2.3 (Max) 2:28.5 788,458 bytes 40.0% SUPER PACK 2.0 (Max) 2:28.5 788,458 bytes 40.0% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Normal Comp) 0:21.0 789,647 bytes 39.9% CRUSHER 3.12 (none) 0:52.5 792,994 bytes 39.7% - JAR 1.01beta -m4 1:03.5 798,739 bytes 39.2% + JAR 1.01c -m4 1:02.0 798,742 bytes 39.2% - JAR 1.01beta -m3 1:03.4 798,742 bytes 39.2% + JAR 1.01c -m3 1:01.9 798,751 bytes 39.2% JAM - Aug1996 (none) 0:13.3 802,101 bytes 39.0% YAC 1.02 (none) 0:49.5 803,189 bytes 38.9% - JAR 1.01beta (none) 0:47.0 808,543 bytes 38.5% + JAR 1.01c (none) 0:45.4 808,549 bytes 38.5% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 9) 0:45.0 810,511 bytes 38.3% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 5) 0:40.6 813,556 bytes 38.1% ARX 1.00 (none) 0:28.5 815,339 bytes 38.0% PAK 2.51 (none) 0:17.9 817,011 bytes 37.8% SQWEZ 2.2 /s 0:50.2 817,479 bytes 37.8% HYPER 2.6 (none) 0:18.5 821,782 bytes 37.5% NULIB 3.24 c5 0:10.0 830,101 bytes 36.8% AMGC 2.3 (Normal) 0:29.3 833,733 bytes 36.6% SUPER PACK 2.0 (Normal) 0:29.5 833,733 bytes 36.6% PKZIP 2.04g -es 0:07.4 848,625 bytes 35.4% PGMPAK 0.13 (none) 0:17.4 861,432 bytes 34.5% DWC 5.10 z 0:13.5 871,940 bytes 33.7% DWC 5.10 (none) 0:13.3 872,274 bytes 33.6% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 (none) 0:21.5 877,709 bytes 33.2% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sh 0:23.7 877,727 bytes 33.2% MDCD 1.0 (none) 0:10.6 880,229 bytes 33.0% ZOO 2.10 : 0:24.2 880,276 bytes 33.0% +F PKARC 3.5 (none) 0:06.3 882,769 bytes 32.8% JRCHIVE 1.10 -v 0:16.4 899,525 bytes 31.6% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sm 0:19.7 903,178 bytes 31.3% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 -m 0:15.4 931,605 bytes 29.1% NULIB 3.24 (none) 0:11.6 937,188 bytes 28.7% LARC 3.33 (none) 0:19.2 946,923 bytes 28.0% GAS 2.0 (none) 4:10.0 983,262 bytes 25.2% ARC 6.02 (none) 0:09.9 1,067,359 bytes 18.8% Winner for best compression : RKIVE 1.4 Winner for fastest compression: PKARC 3.5 Winner for best overall : RAR 2.0 BMP File Test - (24bit, 620x300x16M) Uncompressed Size 558,054 bytes CREATION ARCHIVER SWITCHES TIME COMPRESSED SIZE RATIO -------- -------- -------- --------------- ----- B RKIVE 1.4 -mtx 1:05.4 176,883 bytes 68.3% RKIVE 1.4 -mt 0:52.0 176,918 bytes 68.3% RKIVE 1.4 -mb 0:50.3 192,582 bytes 65.5% RKIVE 1.4 -mf 0:42.4 194,825 bytes 65.1% O HAP 4.03 3 0:12.6 203,223 bytes 63.6% UC v2.37 beta (Max Compress) 1:00.9 209,556 bytes 62.4% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Max Compress) 1:01.7 209,560 bytes 62.4% X1 0.94m ->X xem4l2 0:58.7 215,044 bytes 61.5% X1 0.94m ->X xem3 0:59.1 216,348 bytes 61.2% BZIP 0.21 (none) 0:19.0 216,396 bytes 61.2% ACB 1.26a (u)f 1:59.1 219,096 bytes 60.7% ACB 1.23c (u)f 2:05.4 219,185 bytes 60.7% ACB 1.26a (b)f 1:24.1 221,692 bytes 60.3% ACB 1.23c (b)f 1:24.1 222,013 bytes 60.2% ACB 1.14a (b)f 1:25.4 223,341 bytes 60.0% X1 0.94m ->X xem7 0:12.2 226,013 bytes 59.5% ACB 1.26a (B)f 1:01.1 226,428 bytes 59.4% HA 0.999b e2 1:02.2 228,372 bytes 59.1% RAR 2.0 -m5 -mmf 0:08.5 230,450 bytes 58.7% WinRAR 2.0 -mmf -md256 0:10.1 230,463 bytes 58.7% ACB 1.23c (B)f 0:43.8 235,402 bytes 57.8% CODEC 3.21 -c10 1:01.9 238,875 bytes 57.2% X1 0.94m ->X xem6l2 3:16.6 240,022 bytes 57.0% ARI 1.14c -m5 -hc63k 1:54.7 240,974 bytes 56.8% ARI 1.14c -m5 -hz30 1:43.1 241,061 bytes 56.8% ARI 1.14c -m3 0:40.4 241,644 bytes 56.7% QUANTUM 0.97 -c7 -t20 27:06.9 246,934 bytes 55.8% QUANTUM 0.97 -c5 6:34.5 249,954 bytes 55.2% WinRAR 2.0 -m5 -md256 0:30.2 253,095 bytes 54.6% + JAR32 1.01c -m4 0:21.0 255,198 bytes 54.3% + JAR32 1.01c -m3 0:20.6 255,201 bytes 54.3% - JAR32 1.01beta -m3 0:21.7 255,219 bytes 54.3% - JAR32 1.01beta -m4 0:22.1 255,227 bytes 54.3% WinRAR 2.0 -md256 0:13.4 255,600 bytes 54.2% QUANTUM 0.97 -c3 -t20 0:41.2 255,982 bytes 54.1% + JAR32 1.01c (none) 0:15.4 257,161 bytes 54.3% - JAR32 1.01beta (none) 0:15.9 257,182 bytes 54.3% QUANTUM 0.97 (none) 0:38.4 257,768 bytes 53.8% HPACK 0.79a0 -df 1:30.2 258,766 bytes 53.6% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Default) 0:09.8 261,852 bytes 53.1% UC v2.37 beta (Default) 0:09.3 261,864 bytes 53.1% YAC 1.02 (none) 0:23.4 262,213 bytes 53.0% - JAR 1.01beta -m3 0:28.2 262,370 bytes 53.0% + JAR 1.01c -m3 0:26.7 262,371 bytes 53.0% - JAR 1.01beta -m4 0:28.3 262,371 bytes 53.0% + JAR 1.01c -m4 0:26.7 262,372 bytes 53.0% HAP 3.05bp (none) 0:27.4 262,589 bytes 52.9% RAR 2.0 -m5 0:12.1 263,239 bytes 52.8% + JAR 1.01c (none) 0:21.1 264,371 bytes 52.6% - JAR 1.01beta (none) 0:22.5 264,381 bytes 52.6% AMGC 2.3 (Max) 0:21.0 264,508 bytes 52.6% SUPER PACK 2.0 (Max) 0:21.3 264,508 bytes 52.6% RAR 2.0 -ep 0:07.3 265,233 bytes 52.8% QUARK 1.0beta (none) 0:16.6 265,504 bytes 52.4% SQZ 1.08.3 -q(ALT236) 0:18.6 266,007 bytes 52.3% + ESP 1.5 /m0 0:07.1 267,867 bytes 52.0% - AIN 2.30 /m1 0:06.7 267,892 bytes 52.0% + AIN 2.32 /m1 0:06.8 267,892 bytes 52.0% SQZ 1.08.3 (none) 0:07.9 267,935 bytes 52.0% ARJZ 0.15 -mp9 0:10.8 268,173 bytes 51.9% LHA 2.67(Win32) -wd:\ 0:09.5 268,339 bytes 51.9% + ZIPSERVER 2.12 (none) 0:05.0 269,072 bytes 51.8% AMGC 2.3 (Normal) 0:07.1 269,249 bytes 51.8% SUPER PACK 2.0 (Normal) 0:07.4 269,249 bytes 51.8% + ESP 1.5 /m2 0:05.7 269,666 bytes 51.7% - AIN 2.30 (none) 0:05.4 269,693 bytes 51.7% + AIN 2.32 (none) 0:05.5 269,693 bytes 51.7% PKZIP 2.04g -ex 0:09.7 270,073 bytes 51.6% ARJZ 0.15 (none) 0:06.5 270,404 bytes 51.5% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Extra) 0:06.3 270,661 bytes 51.5% PKZIP 2.04g (none) 0:06.2 271,355 bytes 51.4% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Norm) 0:04.0 272,584 bytes 51.2% ARJ 2.50a -jm -e 0:11.3 273,371 bytes 51.0% ARJ 2.55b -jm -e 0:12.0 273,371 bytes 51.0% CODEC 3.21 (none) 0:06.9 274,263 bytes 50.9% ARJ 2.50a -e 0:07.1 274,498 bytes 50.8% ARJ 2.55b -e 0:08.0 274,498 bytes 50.8% LIMIT 1.2 -mx 0:15.3 276,374 bytes 50.5% HA 0.999b e1 0:15.7 276,919 bytes 50.4% LIMIT 1.2 (none) 0:10.5 277,646 bytes 50.2% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Max Compress) 0:12.8 278,139 bytes 50.2% GZIP 1.2.4 -9 0:13.8 278,511 bytes 50.1% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -9 -j 0:11.3 278,139 bytes 50.2% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -9 -j 0:11.3 278,163 bytes 50.2% LHARK 0.3o -tob 0:13.8 279,644 bytes 49.9% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 -+1 0:11.6 279,926 bytes 49.8% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -j 0:06.7 280,177 bytes 49.8% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -j 0:06.7 280,236 bytes 49.8% GZIP 1.2.4 (none) 0:08.5 280,547 bytes 49.8% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Normal Comp) 0:06.3 281,407 bytes 49.6% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 (none) 0:07.4 281,906 bytes 49.5% LHARK 0.3o (none) 0:06.3 283,718 bytes 49.2% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 9) 0:14.4 284,134 bytes 49.1% LHA 2.55b -we: 0:11.0 284,728 bytes 49.0% AR 1.10 (none) 0:21.4 284,728 bytes 49.0% SAR 1.0 (none) 0:20.7 284,736 bytes 49.0% ZOO 2.10 h: 0:19.6 284,863 bytes 49.0% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 5) 0:13.8 285,003 bytes 48.9% CROSSEPAC 1.35 Format=Binary 0:19.9 285,037 bytes 48.9% PUT 3.41 (none) 0:14.3 285,321 bytes 48.9% JAM - Aug1996 (none) 0:05.6 292,502 bytes 48.9% SQWEZ 2.2 /s 0:18.9 294,491 bytes 48.9% CRUSHER 3.12 (none) 0:20.1 294,499 bytes 47.2% PAK 2.51 (none) 0:07.0 299,270 bytes 46.4% HYPER 2.6 (none) 0:07.5 299,652 bytes 46.3% ARX 1.00 (none) 0:15.4 305,944 bytes 45.2% PGMPAK 0.13 (none) 0:08.4 307,720 bytes 44.9% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 (none) 0:08.7 309,981 bytes 44.5% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sh 0:09.6 309,999 bytes 44.4% NULIB 3.24 c5 0:05.2 311,291 bytes 44.2% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sm 0:07.9 320,196 bytes 42.6% PKZIP 2.04g -es 0:03.6 326,338 bytes 41.5% DWC 5.10 z 0:06.1 332,533 bytes 40.4% LARC 3.33 (none) 0:08.0 341,741 bytes 38.8% DWC 5.10 (none) 0:05.7 345,441 bytes 38.1% MDCD 1.0 (none) 0:04.6 352,285 bytes 36.9% ZOO 2.10 : 0:10.0 352,332 bytes 36.9% SPLINT 2.1 (none) 0:16.1 355,504 bytes 36.3% +F PKARC 3.5 (none) 0:03.4 359,046 bytes 35.7% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 -m 0:07.3 361,149 bytes 35.3% JRCHIVE 1.10 -v 0:07.4 371,531 bytes 33.4% ARC 6.02 (none) 0:04.1 374,737 bytes 32.8% NULIB 3.24 (none) 0:05.2 388,521 bytes 30.4% + DPA 1.1a (none) 0:13.9 393,725 bytes 29.4% GAS 2.0 (none) 1:50.3 429,982 bytes 22.9% Winner for best compression : RKIVE 1.4 Winner for fastest compression: PKARC 3.5 Winner for best overall : HAP 4.03 +--------------------------------------+ | PART 2 - MULTIPLE FILE TESTS | +--------------------------------------+ I compressed a directory containing 21 files totalling 3,255,838 bytes on my hard drive to a 2 megabyte RAM drive. This directory contained the original files from the Calgary Corpus archive (CALGARYCORPUS.ZIP) which contains text, binary and graphical files. I used a 486DX4-75 with 20 megabytes of RAM to do this test. No disk CACHE was used at all! For the timing, Ultra Precision Command Timer v1.6 by Erik de Neve was used. The operating system used was DOS 6.22. Here are my results: EXTRACT COMPRESS ARCHIVER SWITCHES TIME TIME COMPRESSED SIZE RATIO -------- -------- ------- -------- --------------- ----- B ACB 1.26a (u)f N/A 12:33.6 815,717 bytes 74.9% ACB 1.23c (u)f 13:27.6 13:07.4 815,850 bytes 74.9% RKIVE 1.4 -mtx 3:37.8 6:11.2 818,705 bytes 74.9% RKIVE 1.4 -mt 3:20.5 4:24.0 819,836 bytes 74.8% ACB 1.26a (b)f N/A 8:56.8 822,640 bytes 74.7% ACB 1.23c (b)f 9:10.6 8:51.5 823,058 bytes 74.7% 8 ACB 1.14a (b)f 9:50.6 9:41.4 831,676 bytes 74.5% X1 0.94m ->X xem4l2 2:56.4 2:41.3 836,761 bytes 74.3% ACB 1.26a (B)f N/A 6:33.3 836,957 bytes 74.3% X1 0.94m ->X xem3 2:56.5 2:44.7 840,237 bytes 74.2% ACB 1.23c (B)f 5:11.1 4:55.6 865,742 bytes 73.4% RKIVE 1.4 -mb 2:01.2 3:32.3 874,701 bytes 73.1% O BZIP 0.21+TAR (none) 0:56.8 1:55.2 882,426 bytes 72.9% HA 0.999b e12 2:44.8 4:30.3 883,651 bytes 72.9% HA 0.999b e2 3:03.2 3:01.7 884,305 bytes 72.8% BZIP 0.21+TAR -5 0:56.8 1:52.7 889,247 bytes 72.7% X1 0.94m ->X xem6l2ob 25:16.4 24:19.8 902,837 bytes 72.3% - JAR32 1.01beta-m4 0:25.1 2:21.2 905,335 bytes 72.2% + JAR32 1.01c -m4 0:24.8 1:22.4 905,392 bytes 72.2% QUANTUM 0.97 -c7 -t20 1:11.6 135:27.5 905,520 bytes 72.2% RKIVE 1.4 -mf 1:51.9 2:32.4 906,457 bytes 72.2% - JAR32 1.01beta-m3 0:25.5 1:19.1 909,579 bytes 72.1% + JAR32 1.01c -m3 0:25.4 1:19.1 909,579 bytes 72.1% - JAR32 1.01beta(none) 0:25.2 0:57.4 912,514 bytes 72.0% + JAR32 1.01c (none) 0:25.2 0:56.9 912,616 bytes 72.0% X1 0.94m ->X xem7 0:32.7 0:55.1 919,267 bytes 71.8% CODEC 3.21 -c10 3:27.8 3:12.1 920,906 bytes 71.7% QUANTUM 0.97 -c5 1:13.1 37:59.2 934,429 bytes 71.3% + JAR 1.01c -m4 0:44.7 1:38.2 937,184 bytes 71.2% - JAR 1.01beta -m4 0:48.1 1:39.6 937,187 bytes 71.2% + JAR 1.01c -m3 0:44.3 1:40.2 938,916 bytes 71.2% - JAR 1.01beta -m3 0:48.4 1:41.3 938,918 bytes 71.2% - JAR 1.01beta (none) 0:48.2 1:12.6 947,413 bytes 70.9% + JAR 1.01c (none) 0:47.1 1:11.4 947,415 bytes 70.9% WinRAR 2.0 -m5-mm-md1024-s 0:10.9 7:31.3 948,230 bytes 70.9% HAP 4.03 3 1:07.6 0:57.7 969,576 bytes 70.2% HAP 3.05bp (none) 1:45.3 1:34.3 969,576 bytes 70.2% QUANTUM 0.97 -c3 -t20 1:12.5 7:09.5 972,250 bytes 70.1% WinRAR 2.0 -m5-mm-md1024 0:11.8 4:12.5 972,847 bytes 70.1% QUANTUM 0.97 (none) 1:14.0 5:11.1 981,912 bytes 69.8% WinRAR 2.0 -mm-md1024-s 0:11.3 1:41.0 985,965 bytes 69.7% ARI 1.14c -m5 -ho 0:22.9 11:05.9 1,008,440 bytes 69.0% RAR 2.0 -m5 -mm -s 0:16.5 1:45.0 1,011,311 bytes 68.9% ARI 1.14c -m5 -t16 0:23.5 9:15.8 1,015,699 bytes 68.8% ARI 1.14c -m3-ho-hz30 0:23.3 4:32.6 1,018,423 bytes 68.7% 8 UC2 v3.0 PRO o25 (Max) 0:16.0 94:51.3 1,022,160 bytes 68.6% YAC 1.02 (none) 0:38.1 1:56.7 1,022,810 bytes 68.6% HPACK 0.79a0 -df 0:37.5 11:42.7 1,023,107 bytes 68.6% RAR 2.0 -m5 0:14.3 1:38.7 1,025,600 bytes 68.5% UC v2.37 beta (Max Comp) 0:17.6 2:06.6 1,026,592 bytes 68.5% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Max Comp) 0:17.7 2:08.1 1,026,612 bytes 68.5% 8 CRUSH 1.8+UC2 -n -u 0:27.9 2:13.5 1,032,742 bytes 68.3% LHARK 0.3o -tob 0:13.7 1:27.9 1,035,887 bytes 68.2% Q ARJZ 0.15 -mp9 0:10.7 1:25.7 1,038,117 bytes 68.1% RAR 2.0 -ep 0:15.5 0:48.1 1,040,803 bytes 68.0% ARJZ 0.15 (none) 0:11.6 0:53.1 1,047,190 bytes 67.8% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Default) 0:18.7 0:53.9 1,053,814 bytes 67.6% UC v2.37 beta (Default) 0:16.5 0:53.0 1,053,828 bytes 67.6% LIMIT 1.2 -mx 0:13.6 1:08.0 1,054,168 bytes 67.6% LHARK 0.3o (none) 0:13.6 0:41.3 1,054,477 bytes 67.6% HA 0.999b e 0:35.5 1:31.8 1,054,534 bytes 67.6% LIMIT 1.2 (none) 0:13.3 0:57.2 1,056,022 bytes 67.6% CRUSH 1.8+HA -n -h 0:49.9 1:54.4 1,057,050 bytes 67.5% GZIP 1.2.4+TAR -9 0:40.2 1:53.3 1,060,868 bytes 67.4% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Extra) 0:07.6 0:39.4 1,061,146 bytes 67.4% SQZ 1.08.3 -q(ALT236) 0:16.4 1:49.7 1,062,541 bytes 67.4% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Max Comp) 0:11.3 1:14.0 1,063,059 bytes 67.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -9 -j 0:20.4 1:08.3 1,063,143 bytes 67.3% SUPERPACK 2.0 (Max) 0:17.4 2:22.9 1,063,253 bytes 67.3% AMGC 2.3 (Max) 0:19.3 2:22.9 1,063,253 bytes 67.3% TAR 3.20+GZIP cvf.9 0:42.7 1:31.5 1,063,365 bytes 67.3% CRUSH 1.8+ZIP -n 0:28.0 1:18.6 1,063,540 bytes 67.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -9 -j 0:18.1 1:06.2 1,063,563 bytes 67.3% - AIN 2.30 /m1 0:13.4 0:39.9 1,064,424 bytes 67.3% + AIN 2.32 /m1 0:14.2 0:40.3 1,064,424 bytes 67.3% CODEC 3.21 (none) 0:23.4 0:50.6 1,065,105 bytes 67.3% PKZIP 2.04g -ex 0:12.1 0:53.0 1,065,291 bytes 67.3% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 -+1 0:15.4 1:18.5 1,065,316 bytes 67.3% LHA 2.67(Win32) -wd:\ 0:12.8 1:06.1 1,066,725 bytes 67.2% + ESP 1.5 /m0 0:14.3 0:41.2 1,066,879 bytes 67.2% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Norm) 0:07.1 0:28.9 1,067,946 bytes 67.2% QUARK 1.0beta (none) 0:22.3 1:44.4 1,070,012 bytes 67.1% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -j 0:21.0 0:43.1 1,070,449 bytes 67.1% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -j 0:18.2 0:45.4 1,070,947 bytes 67.1% 8 BSArc 2.0.0 (none) 0:16.6 0:54.9 1,071,007 bytes 67.1% SQZ 1.08.3 (none) 0:17.7 0:57.7 1,073,033 bytes 67.0% - AIN 2.30 (none) 0:14.3 0:29.3 1,073,515 bytes 67.0% + AIN 2.32 (none) 0:14.6 0:29.6 1,073,515 bytes 67.0% + ESP 1.5 /m2 0:14.4 0:30.2 1,075,687 bytes 67.0% PKZIP 2.04g (none) 0:13.2 0:33.3 1,077,029 bytes 66.9% CRUSH 1.8+ARJ -n -j 0:29.1 1:30.9 1,080,203 bytes 66.8% 8 SARJ 1.20 (none) 0:23.9 1:31.0 1,080,678 bytes 66.8% ARJ 2.50a -jm -e 0:14.4 1:08.1 1,081,242 bytes 66.8% ARJ 2.55b -jm -e 0:16.3 1:08.8 1,081,242 bytes 66.8% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Normal) 0:11.5 0:40.6 1,082,623 bytes 66.7% 8 ARJ 2.50a -e 0:15.0 0:50.9 1,083,615 bytes 66.7% ARJ 2.55b -e 0:16.1 0:52.6 1,083,615 bytes 66.7% + ZIPSERVER 2.12 (none) 0:11.7 0:43.4 1,086,764 bytes 66.6% AMGC 2.3 (Normal) 0:18.1 0:46.6 1,114,793 bytes 65.8% SUPERPACK 2.0 (Normal) 0:19.9 0:46.6 1,114,793 bytes 65.8% LHA 2.55b -we: 0:14.3 1:04.1 1,142,342 bytes 64.9% SAR 1.0 (none) 0:20.5 2:15.7 1,142,363 bytes 64.9% CROSSEPAC 1.35 For=Binary 0:39.6 1:55.3 1,142,972 bytes 64.9% ZOO 2.10 h: 0:18.5 1:56.5 1,143,300 bytes 64.9% PUT 3.41 (none) 0:18.4 1:22.6 1,144,112 bytes 64.9% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 9) 0:31.0 1:38.1 1,153,830 bytes 64.6% ZipNAV 2.03 (Comp lvl 5) 0:35.6 1:33.2 1,158,207 bytes 64.4% PAK 2.51 (none) 0:14.4 0:37.4 1,191,686 bytes 63.4% CRUSHER 3.12 (none) 0:28.2 2:19.9 1,192,279 bytes 63.4% HYPER 2.6 (none) 0:26.9 0:36.2 1,192,602 bytes 63.4% SQWEZ 2.2 /s 0:22.8 1:53.3 1,236,777 bytes 62.0% ZIP-ARCHIV 2 (none) N/A 0:53.3 1,242,525 bytes 61.8% ARX 1.00 (none) 0:22.3 1:29.8 1,251,447 bytes 61.6% F PKZIP 2.04g -es 0:12.1 0:13.1 1,263,818 bytes 61.2% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sh 0:19.0 0:59.3 1,300,547 bytes 60.1% JAM - Aug1996 (none) 0:35.2 0:39.4 1,355,276 bytes 58.4% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sm 0:19.6 0:47.6 1,396,823 bytes 57.1% DWC 5.10 z 0:14.3 0:32.1 1,399,119 bytes 57.0% ZIP-ARCHIV 2 -m N/A 0:34.6 1,426,438 bytes 56.2% + PKARC 3.5 (none) 0:13.3 0:14.2 1,450,280 bytes 55.5% DWC 5.10 (none) 0:13.2 0:30.4 1,457,467 bytes 55.2% LARC 3.33 (none) 0:19.0 1:11.1 1,471,881 bytes 54.8% ZOO 2.10 : 0:29.4 0:51.6 1,494,933 bytes 54.1% MDCD 1.0 (none) 0:22.5 0:22.0 1,495,906 bytes 54.1% JRCHIVE 1.10 -c -v 1:30.2 1:27.2 1,577,544 bytes 51.5% JRCHIVE 1.10 -v 0:56.0 1:02.2 1,578,882 bytes 51.5% ARC 6.02 (none) 0:17.0 0:19.1 1,590,185 bytes 51.2% SPLINT 2.1 (TARed) 1:30.0 1:29.4 1,602,025 bytes 50.8% Winner for best compression : ACB 1.26a Winner for fastest compression: PKZIP 2.04g Winner for quickest extraction: ARJZ 0.15 Winner for best overall : BZIP 0.21 * Please note that the switches listed above apply only during compression and not during extraction. In the second multiple-file test, I took 126 small TEXT files totalling 1,410,124 bytes and compressed them using the same method as before. EXTRACT COMPRESS ARCHIVER SWITCHES TIME TIME COMPRESSED SIZE RATIO -------- -------- ------- -------- --------------- ----- B ACB 1.23c (u)f 4:22.9 3:54.5 258,956 bytes 81.6% ACB 1.26a (u)f N/A 3:44.5 259,162 bytes 81.6% RKIVE 1.4 -mtx 1:27.4 1:52.1 261,029 bytes 81.5% ACB 1.26a (b)f N/A 2:38.2 261,581 bytes 81.4% ACB 1.23c (b)f 3:04.6 2:35.7 261,617 bytes 81.4% RKIVE 1.4 -mt 1:20.5 1:21.8 263,724 bytes 81.3% ACB 1.14a (b)f 3:27.9 3:00.2 264,187 bytes 81.3% ACB 1.26a (B)f N/A 1:54.3 266,541 bytes 81.1% RKIVE 1.4 -mb 1:00.7 1:07.4 274,233 bytes 80.6% ACB 1.23c (B)f 1:49.7 1:23.5 276,076 bytes 80.4% + JAR32 1.01c -m4 0:25.0 1:38.8 284,275 bytes 79.8% - JAR32 1.01beta-m4 0:26.0 1:27.0 284,802 bytes 79.8% RKIVE 1.4 -mf 0:57.3 0:49.0 286,799 bytes 79.7% +O JAR32 1.01c -m3 0:24.8 0:45.4 290,600 bytes 79.4% - JAR32 1.01beta-m3 0:24.9 0:45.7 291,126 bytes 79.4% QUANTUM 0.97 -c7 -t20 0:47.4 44:22.8 291,582 bytes 79.3% + JAR32 1.01c (none) 0:25.3 0:35.5 291,638 bytes 79.3% - JAR32 1.01beta(none) 0:25.5 0:35.6 292,163 bytes 79.3% - JAR 1.01beta -m4 0:49.0 0:59.7 294,816 bytes 79.1% + JAR 1.01c -m4 0:48.0 0:58.3 294,817 bytes 79.1% BZIP 0.21+TAR (none) 0:35.6 0:58.2 296,098 bytes 79.0% - JAR 1.01beta -m3 0:49.1 1:01.0 299,288 bytes 78.8% + JAR 1.01c -m3 0:47.4 0:59.7 299,289 bytes 78.8% - JAR 1.01beta (none) 0:48.6 0:45.8 301,881 bytes 78.6% + JAR 1.01c (none) 0:48.8 0:44.4 301,882 bytes 78.6% BZIP 0.21+TAR -5 0:35.5 0:56.0 304,102 bytes 78.4% X1 0.94m ->X xeum7 0:44.7 0:43.2 306,626 bytes 78.3% X1 0.94m ->X xeum6l2 18:14.8 17:32.7 306,872 bytes 78.2% WinRAR 2.0 -m5-md1024-s 0:10.5 2:17.0 308,592 bytes 78.1% QUANTUM 0.97 -c3 -t20 0:46.6 2:50.0 312,793 bytes 77.8% X1 0.94m ->X xeum4l2 1:38.8 1:08.5 315,510 bytes 77.6% QUANTUM 0.97 (none) 0:47.3 2:08.6 317,598 bytes 77.5% WinRAR 2.0 -md1024 -s 0:10.5 0:43.9 319,162 bytes 77.4% X1 0.94m ->X xeum3 1:37.8 1:08.3 321,287 bytes 77.2% YAC 1.02 (none) 0:43.7 0:53.9 332,211 bytes 76.4% ARI 1.14c -m5 -ho 0:24.7 9:17.9 333,761 bytes 76.3% ARI 1.14c -m3-ho-hz30 0:27.3 3:35.3 335,596 bytes 76.2% RAR 2.0 -m5 -s 0:24.2 0:42.2 338,585 bytes 76.0% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Max Comp) 0:39.6 1:06.1 346,402 bytes 75.2% + ESP 1.5 /m0 0:28.5 0:21.7 351,570 bytes 75.1% + ESP 1.5 /m2 0:26.7 0:19.8 353,665 bytes 74.9% UC2 v3.0 PRO (Default) 0:38.1 0:26.7 354,504 bytes 74.9% SARJ 1.21 (none) 0:35.9 0:39.3 368,841 bytes 73.8% HPACK 0.79a0 -df -u 0:33.4 1:20.5 369,574 bytes 73.8% CRUSH 1.8+HA -n -h 0:45.6 0:54.0 369,675 bytes 73.8% CRUSH 1.8+ZIP -n 0:35.1 0:39.0 374,088 bytes 73.5% - AIN 2.30 /m1 0:25.0 0:18.5 376,974 bytes 73.3% + AIN 2.32 /m1 0:25.5 0:18.6 376,974 bytes 73.3% - AIN 2.30 (none) 0:24.6 0:16.2 379,248 bytes 73.1% + AIN 2.32 (none) 0:26.0 0:16.3 379,248 bytes 73.1% GZIP 1.2.4+TAR -9 0:15.8 0:44.2 381,657 bytes 72.9% HA 0.999b e12 2:22.1 3:09.5 387,243 bytes 72.5% HA 0.999b e2 2:25.5 2:34.6 387,285 bytes 72.5% CRUSH 1.8+ARJ -n -j 0:36.6 0:46.3 387,715 bytes 72.5% CODEC 3.21 -c10 2:01.3 1:40.4 388,924 bytes 72.4% HAP 4.03 3 0:45.9 0:28.4 404,251 bytes 71.3% HAP 3.05bp (none) 0:48.6 0:30.7 404,251 bytes 71.3% HA 0.999b e1 0:35.5 1:04.2 430,338 bytes 69.5% ARI 1.14c -m5 -t16 0:22.1 3:59.6 430,899 bytes 69.4% HPACK 0.79a0 -df 0:34.4 0:50.2 433,956 bytes 69.2% LIMIT 1.2 -mx 0:29.7 0:23.5 436,224 bytes 69.1% LIMIT 1.2 (none) 0:27.2 0:19.0 436,793 bytes 69.0% QUARK 1.0beta (none) 0:53.1 0:31.2 438,482 bytes 68.9% LHARK 0.3o -tob 0:27.0 0:16.2 438,832 bytes 68.9% SQZ 1.08.3 -q(ALT236) 0:34.5 0:40.3 438,840 bytes 68.9% AMGC 2.3 (Max) 0:30.2 0:37.0 440,188 bytes 68.8% SUPERPACK 2.0 (Max) 0:28.7 0:37.2 440,188 bytes 68.8% LHARK 0.3o (none) 0:26.9 0:13.7 440,452 bytes 68.8% WinRAR 2.0 -m5 -md256 0:15.4 0:40.4 440,645 bytes 68.8% SQZ 1.08.3 (none) 0:32.2 0:21.9 440,930 bytes 68.7% RAR 2.0 -m5 0:25.9 0:22.5 441,462 bytes 68.7% LHA 2.67(Win32) -wd:\ 0:14.6 0:30.1 443,328 bytes 68.6% ARJZ 0.15 -mp9 -jh 0:25.7 0:26.4 444,685 bytes 68.5% ARJ 2.55b -jm -e 0:32.8 0:25.5 444,702 bytes 68.5% ARJ 2.50a -jm -e 0:32.2 0:25.1 444,702 bytes 68.5% ARJ 2.55b -e 0:33.9 0:20.5 445,261 bytes 68.4% ARJ 2.50a -e 0:33.8 0:20.0 445,261 bytes 68.4% CODEC 3.21 (none) 0:30.4 0:21.1 446,404 bytes 68.3% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Extra) 0:09.1 0:17.4 446,609 bytes 68.3% PKZIP 2.04g -ex 0:22.7 0:15.5 446,734 bytes 68.3% ARJZ 0.15 (none) 0:26.3 0:19.0 447,059 bytes 68.3% Q WINZIP'95 6.2 (Max Comp) 0:08.6 0:29.7 447,184 bytes 68.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -9 -j 1:17.6 0:34.7 447,184 bytes 68.3% + PKZIP 2.5 Win95 (Norm) 0:08.9 0:15.8 448,535 bytes 68.3% INFO-ZIP 2.1NT -j 1:17.7 0:26.8 449,907 bytes 68.1% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -9 -j 0:28.6 0:27.2 450,208 bytes 68.1% PKZIP 2.04g (none) 0:24.7 0:13.8 450,621 bytes 68.0% + ZIPSERVER 2.12 (none) 0:25.1 0:30.6 451,966 bytes 67.9% INFO-ZIP 2.1DOS -j 0:29.2 0:19.5 452,949 bytes 67.9% LHA 2.55b -we: 0:23.8 0:27.7 453,009 bytes 67.9% SAR 1.0 (none) 0:30.0 0:57.6 453,010 bytes 67.9% PUT 3.41 (none) 0:25.5 0:38.3 453,256 bytes 67.9% WINZIP'95 6.2 (Norm Comp) 0:08.9 0:19.4 453,649 bytes 67.8% SUPERPACK 2.0 (Normal) 0:29.1 0:18.1 454,517 bytes 67.8% AMGC 2.3 (Normal) 0:29.4 0:18.5 454,517 bytes 67.8% CROSSEPAC 1.35 For=Binary 0:40.1 0:48.7 454,564 bytes 67.8% ZOO 2.10 h: 0:24.5 0:46.1 457,510 bytes 67.6% CRUSHER 3.12 (none) 0:40.2 1:04.2 466,695 bytes 66.9% HYPER 2.6 (none) 0:30.9 0:21.8 476,258 bytes 66.2% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 (none) 0:26.1 0:21.8 477,196 bytes 66.2% ARX 1.0 (none) 0:30.3 1:02.6 492,937 bytes 65.0% SQWEZ 2.2 /s 0:36.6 0:53.6 495,451 bytes 64.9% PAK 2.51 (none) 0:25.0 0:21.7 495,698 bytes 64.8% F PKZIP 2.04g -es 0:22.1 0:10.5 507,638 bytes 64.0% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sh 0:29.1 0:25.1 511,796 bytes 63.7% JAM - Aug1996 (none) 0:22.7 2:22.2 547,268 bytes 61.2% ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 -m 0:26.8 0:18.0 551,321 bytes 60.9% TSCOMP 1.3.21 -sm 0:29.4 0:23.1 553,674 bytes 60.7% SPLINT 2.1+TAR (none) 0:28.2 0:35.1 575,488 bytes 59.2% LARC 3.33 (none) 0:29.7 0:26.1 576,730 bytes 59.1% DWC 5.10 z 0:27.2 0:30.9 613,071 bytes 56.5% DWC 5.10 (none) 0:29.0 0:30.5 616,664 bytes 56.3% + PKARC 3.5 (none) 0:24.4 0:11.0 619,582 bytes 56.1% ZOO 2.10 : 0:28.8 0:25.0 628,259 bytes 55.4% MDCD 1.0 (none) 0:30.3 0:14.5 634,587 bytes 55.0% JRCHIVE 1.10 -c -v 1:06.4 0:55.1 644,196 bytes 54.3% JRCHIVE 1.10 -v 1:22.6 1:19.0 644,757 bytes 54.3% ARC 6.02 (none) 0:25.1 0:12.8 649,709 bytes 53.9% Winner for best compression : ACB 1.23c Winner for fastest compression: PKZIP 2.04g Winner for quickest extraction: WINZIP'95 6.2 Winner for best overall : JAR32 1.01c +-----------------------------------------+ | LOCATING ARCHIVERS FOR DOWNLOAD | +-----------------------------------------+ The easiest way to download the archivers listed in A.C.T. is to use the WWW version of A.C.T. If you cannot access the WWW then most of the archivers can be found on the following four FTP sites. Try them in this order: ftp.elf.stuba.sk /pub/pc/pack (10 Anonymous Users 13:00-06:00 GMT) ftp.kiae.su /msdos/arcers (20 Anonymous Users Allowed) ftp.simtel.net /pub/simtelnet/msdos/arcers (900+ Anon Users Allowed) ftp.coast.net /SimTel/msdos/archiver (400+ Anonymous Users Allowed) garbo.uwasa.fi /pc/arcers (100 Anonymous Users Allowed) ELF.STUBA.SK MIRROR SITES ------------------------- ftp.vse.cz /pub/msdos/SAC/pc/pack (Czech) ftp-beer.bke.hu /vol1/pub/sac/pc/pack (Hungary) ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de /pub/msdos/mirrors/stuba/pc/pack (Germany) ftp.pwr.wroc.pl /pub/pc/sac/pack (Poland) http://192.217.228.45:80/pub/sac/pack.htm (USA) sunsite.univie.ac.at /pub/compression/ftp.elf.stuba.sk (Austria) EXE-PACKER SITES: ---------------- ftp.elf.stuba.sk /pub/pc/pack ftp.simtel.net /pub/simtelnet/msdos/execomp garbo.uwasa.fi /pc/execomp ftp.kiae.su /msdos/execomp ------------------------------------------------------------------------ As you may or may not have noticed, I have been releasing these test results about once a month. I have decided to release the results near the beginning of each month and name these tests A.C.T. * Please note that the best overall selection is based entirely on the archiver's compression/speed ratio. It is NOT based on the reliability, price, technical support or the options available in the archiver. I have decided to add an Options List which shows what archivers support certain major options. If you think I should add another category to the list or you see an error, please let me know. If there is an error, please tell me what switch will activate the command that I missed. +----------------------+ | OPTIONS LIST | +----------------------+ MULTI MIN. WIN95 DISK AUTH. 'SOLID' DATA CPU/ LONG ARCHIVER SPAN VERI. CRYPT ARCHIVES SFX PROT GUI RAM FILES -------- ----- ----- ----- -------- --- ---- --- ------ ----- ACB 1.26a X X-??? X X 486/16 ACB 1.14a X X-??? X X 386/8 AIN 2.32 X X-??? X x86 AMGC 2.3 X X-??? x86 AR 1.10 x86 ARC 6.02 X-??? x86 ARI 1.14c X X-??? X X X 386 ARJ 2.50a X X X-XOR X x86 ARJ 2.55b X X X-GOST X X x86 X ARX 1.00 x86 BSARC 2.0.0 X X x86 BZIP 0.21 386/2 X CODEC 3.21 X-??? X x86 CROSSEPAC 1.35 x86 CRUSH 1.8 X x86 CRUSHER 3.12 X-??? X x86 DPA 1.1a 386 DWC 5.10 X-??? X x86 MULTI MIN. WIN95 DISK AUTH. 'SOLID' DATA CPU/ LONG ARCHIVER SPAN VERI. CRYPT ARCHIVES SFX PROT GUI RAM FILES -------- ----- ----- ----- -------- --- ---- --- ------ ----- ESP 1.5 X X X x86 GAS 2.0 x86 GZIP 1.2.4 x86 HA 0.999b x86 HAP 3.05bp x86 HAP 4.03 X x86 HPACK 0.79a0 X X X-PGP X X x86 HYPER 2.6 x86 INFO-ZIP 2.1 * X-??? X x86 X JAM - Aug1996 X-XOR x86 JAR 1.01c X X X-GOST X X x86 JAR32 1.01c X X X-GOST X X 386 X JRCHIVE 1.10 X X x86 LARC 3.33 X x86 LHA 2.67 X 386 LHARK 0.3o X-??? X x86 LIMIT 1.2 286 MDCD 1.0 x86 MULTI MIN. WIN95 DISK AUTH. 'SOLID' DATA CPU/ LONG ARCHIVER SPAN VERI. CRYPT ARCHIVES SFX PROT GUI RAM FILES -------- ----- ----- ----- -------- --- ---- --- ------ ----- NULIB 3.24 x86 PAK 2.51 X X-??? X X x86 PKARC 3.5 X-??? X x86 PKZIP 2.04g X X X-??? X x86 PKZIP 2.5W95 X X X-??? X X 386 X PUT 3.41 X x86 QUANTUM 0.97 X 386 QUARK 1.0beta X X-??? X x86 RAR 2.0 X X X-??? X X X X x86 RKIVE 1.3 X 386/4 X SAR 1.0 x86 SARJ 1.20 X X X-XOR X X x86 X SPLINT 2.1 X-??? x86 SQWEZ 2.2 X X x86 SQZ 1.08.3 X x86 SUPER PACK 2.0 X X-??? X X x86 TAR 3.20+ X x86 TSCOMP 1.3.21 x86 MULTI MIN. WIN95 DISK AUTH. 'SOLID' DATA CPU/ LONG ARCHIVER SPAN VERI. CRYPT ARCHIVES SFX PROT GUI RAM FILES -------- ----- ----- ----- -------- --- ---- --- ------ ----- UC2 3.0 PRO * X X-3DES % X X X x86 X UC 2.37 beta * X X-3DES % X X X x86 X WINRAR 2.0 X X X-??? X X X X 386/2 X WINZIP95 6.2 X X-??? X 386/2 X X1 0.94m X X 386/4 X YAC 1.02 X X x86 ZIP-ARCHIV 2.0 X-??? x86 ZIPNAV 2.03 X X X 286 ZIPSERVER 2.12 X X-??? 386/4 X ZOO 2.10 x86 MULTI-DISK SPAN = Ability to span an archive over two or more disks AUTH. VERI. = Authentication Verification (Security Envelope) DATA PROT = Data Protection Encoding (Stores Error Recovery Info) CRYPT = Ability to encrypt files in archive with password (Garble) SFX = Ability to create Self-Extracting Archives (.EXE) GUI = Graphical or Text Shell to manage archiver functions and select files for compression/decompression MIN. CPU/RAM = Minimum PC CPU and RAM (in megabytes) to run archiver If no value for RAM is given, archiver will run in 640k WIN95 LONG FILES = Ability to store and extract Windows95 long filenames * - UC2 comes with a utility (SAS.EXE) to SPLIT archives into chunks and then rebuild them after. This is not nearly as nice as multi-disk spanning. - INFO-ZIP comes with a utility called ZIPSPLIT which does the same thing as UC2's SAS utility. % - UC2 uses shared dictionaries between file collections to utilize similarities between files. +---------------+ | INDEX | +---------------+ ARCHIVER RELEASE AUTHOR & (INTERNET E-MAIL) -------- ------- ------------------------------------------------------ TYPE PLATFORMS SUPPORTED FREE UNCOMPRESS ---------- --------------------------------- --------------- ACB Sep '96 George Buyanovsky (george@acb.alma-ata.su) v1.26a Shareware DOS No AIN Nov '96 Transas Marine (UK) Ltd. (100125.3526@compuserve.com) v2.32 Shareware DOS No AINEXE Nov '96 Transas Marine (UK) Ltd. (100125.3526@compuserve.com) v2.32 Shareware DOS N/A AMGC Aug '95 Milen Georgiev v2.3 Freeware DOS Yes AR Mar '94 Haruhiko Okumura (74050.1022@compuserve.com) v1.10 Freeware DOS Yes ARC Jan '89 S.E.A. Inc. v6.02 Shareware DOS,Amiga No ARI Oct '96 RAO Inc. (ras@okibox.iae.nsk.su) v1.14c Shareware DOS No ARJ Dec '95 Robert Jung (robjung@world.std.com) v2.50a Shareware DOS,Windows,Amiga,MAC Yes,with source ARJ Jul '96 Robert Jung (robjung@world.std.com) v2.55b Shareware DOS,Windows,Amiga,MAC Yes,with source ARJZ Apr '95 (Bulat.Ziganshin@f10.n5049.z2.fidonet.org) v0.15 Shareware DOS,Windows NT,OS/2 Yes ARX Jan '95 Michael A. Kosior (mkosior@acad.bryant.edu) v1.00 Shareware DOS No AVPACK Apr '93 Andrei Volkov v1.22 Shareware DOS (Free for non-commerical use) N/A AXE Jan '89 S.E.A. Inc. v2.2 Shareware DOS No BSARC May '95 Serg Babitchew v2.0.0 Shareware DOS,Win,Win NT,OS/2,QNX,Unix No BZIP Aug '96 Julian Seward (sewardj@cs.man.ac.uk) v0.21 Freeware UNIX,Win 95,Win NT (C Source Code) Yes CODEC Apr '95 Telvox Teleinform. (telvox.teleinf@bologna.nettuno.it) v3.21 Shareware DOS,Win,OS/2,Unix,VMS,PowerPC,more No COMPACK Nov '91 Prominence Computer Services Ltd. v4.5 Shareware DOS N/A CROSSEPAC Oct '94 Digital Strategies, Inc. v1.35 Shareware DOS No CRUNCH Aug '89 Ori Berger v1.0 Shareware DOS N/A CRUSH Feb '95 J. Rollason (100031.3537@compuserve.com) v1.8 Shareware DOS No CRUSHER Nov '95 DC Micro Development (support@dcmicro.com) v3.12 Shareware DOS,Win No DIET Jun '92 Teddy Matsumoto v1.45f Freeware DOS Yes DPA Apr '96 Dirk Paehl v1.1a Freeware DOS Yes DWC Mar '90 Dean W. Cooper (dwcooper@ix.netcom.com) v5.10 Freeware DOS Yes ESP Nov '96 GyikSoft (garpad@sparta.banki.hu) v1.5 Freeware DOS Yes GAS May '93 Ricky Bhatti v2.0 Shareware DOS No GZIP Aug '93 Jean-loup Gailly (gzip@prep.ai.mit.edu) v1.2.4 Freeware DOS,WinNT,Unix,VMS,OS/2,Atari,Amiga Yes HA Jan '95 Harri Hirvola (harri.hirvola@vaisala.infonet.com) v0.999b Freeware DOS,OS/2,UNIX Yes,with source HAP Apr '96 Harald Feldmann (feldmann@xs4all.nl) v4.03 Commercial (v3.05 Shareware) DOS No HPACK May '93 Peter Gutmann (pgut@cs.aukuni.ac.nz) v0.79a0 Shareware DOS,OS/2,Unix,MAC,Amiga,Atari,Archimedes No HYPER May '92 P. Sawatzki & K. Nischkle (in307@dhafeu11.bitnet) v2.6 Shareware DOS No INFOZIP Apr '96 Info-ZIP (zip-bugs@wkuvx1.wku.edu) v2.1 Freeware DOS,WinNT,Unix,OS/2,Amiga,Atari,VMS Yes,with source JAM Aug '96 W. Jiang (wjiang@xmu.edu.cn) vAug-1996 Freeware DOS Yes JAR Nov '96 Robert Jung (robjung@world.std.com) v1.01c Shareware DOS,Win95,WinNT No JRCHIVE May '95 JAYAR Systems (jrsys@io.org) v1.10 Shareware DOS No LARC Feb '89 K. Miki, H. Okumura, K. Masuyama v3.33 Shareware DOS No LHA Oct '95 Haruyasu Yoshizaki (SDI00506@niftyserve.or.jp) v2.67 Freeware DOS,Amiga,Mac,UNIX,Win95,WinNT Yes LHARK Dec '95 Kerwin F. Medina (kerwin@digi.co.jp) v0.3o Freeware DOS Yes LIMIT Feb '94 J Y Lim (jlim@cs.stanford.edu) v1.2 Shareware DOS No LZEXE Jan '90 Fabrice Bellard v0.91 Freeware DOS Yes MDCD Oct '88 Mike Davenport (miked@ionet.net) v1.0 Freeware DOS Yes,with source NULIB Jan '93 Andy McFadden (fadden@uts.amdahl.com) v3.24 Freeware DOS Yes PACKWIN Jun '94 Yellow Rose Workgroup v1.0alpha Shareware DOS N/A PAK Oct '90 NoGate Consulting v2.51 Shareware DOS No PGMPAK Apr '90 Todor Todorov v0.13 Shareware DOS No PKARC Apr '87 PKWARE Inc. (support@pkware.com) v3.5 Shareware DOS,Windows,OS/2 No PKLITE Mar '96 PKWARE Inc. (support@pkware.com) v2.01 Shareware DOS No PKZIP Feb '93 PKWARE Inc. (support@pkware.com) v2.04g Shareware DOS,Windows,OS/2 No PKZIP WIN Sep '96 PKWARE Inc. (support@pkware.com) v2.5 Shareware Windows,Win95,WinNT No PUT Jan '95 Jim Hass (73057.3113@compuserve.com) v3.41 Shareware DOS No QUANTUM May '95 Cinematronics (davids@cruzio.com) v0.97 Freeware DOS,Windows No QUARK May '93 Kunz Robert v1.0beta Shareware DOS No RAR May '96 Eugene Roshal (andrey@vybor.chel.su) v2.0 Shareware DOS,OS/2,UNIX,Win95,WinNT,Win32s Yes,with source RJCRUSH May '96 Roland Skinner (rjs@lia.co.za) v1.10 Shareware DOS No RKIVE Sep '96 Malcolm Taylor (malcolm@manawatu.gen.nz) v1.3 Shareware DOS No SAR Mar '93 Streamline Design v1.0 Shareware DOS No SARJ Jan '96 Frederic Taes (fta@info.fundp.ac.be) v1.21 Freeware DOS Yes SPLINT Apr '89 Kenji Rikitake (Kenji@dctwcs.das.net) v2.1 Freeware DOS,UNIX Yes,with source SQWEZ Nov '94 Jim Miller (74131.1704@compuserve.com) v2.2 Shareware DOS No SQZ Jan '93 Jonas Hammarberg (100417.2002@compuserve.com) v1.08.3 Shareware DOS No SUPER PACK Apr'95 Kai Gossens (Future-Dreams Entertainment) v2.0 Freeware DOS Yes TAR Jan '95 Tim V. Shaporev (tim@shaporev.msk.su) v3.20+ Shareware DOS,Unix,Amiga No TINYPROG Mar '94 Tranzoa, Co. v3.9 Shareware DOS N/A TSCOMP 1991 The Stirling Group v1.3.21 Shareware DOS No UC2 Jun '95 Ad Infinitum Products (desk@aip.nl) v3.0 Shareware(Free for non-commercial use) DOS Yes UC Apr '96 Ad Infinitum Products (desk@aip.nl) v2.37beta Shareware(Free for non-commercial use) DOS Yes UCEXE Apr '96 Ad Infinitum Products (desk@aip.nl) v2.4 Shareware DOS Yes WINZIP Oct '96 Nico Mak (support@winzip.com) v6.2 Shareware Windows,Win95,Win NT No WWPACK Aug '96 Piotr Warezak (awarezak@krysia.uni.lodz.pl) v3.05b3 Shareware DOS No X1 Sep '96 Stig Valentini (x1develop@internet.dk) v0.94m Freeware DOS,OS/2,Win95,WinNT Yes XPACK Oct '96 JauMing Tseng (s8203143@simon.pu.edu.tw) v1.64 Shareware DOS Yes YAC Sep '95 Aleksandras Surna (as@ashurna.msk.ru) v1.02 Freeware DOS Yes ZIP-ARCHIV ??? Peter Troxler v2.0 Shareware DOS No ZIPNAV Jul '95 FlashPoint (FlashPoint@msn.com) v2.03 Shareware Windows No ZIPSERVER Oct '96 Redei Enterprises (71744.3633@compuserve.com) v2.12.2 Shareware Windows No ZOO Jul '91 Rahul Dhesi (dhesi@bsu-cu.bsu.edu) v2.10 Shareware DOS,Unix,Amiga No The information above may not be 100% accurate so if anyone notices any errors or finds something I left out, please let me know. +--------------------+ | WHAT'S NEW | +--------------------+ *** IMPORTANT NOTE *** My new e-mail address is: jeffg@nbnet.nb.ca The new URL for the A.C.T. web page is: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/4264/act.html *** INFORMATION REQUESTED *** If anyone knows the encryption methods that are (???) unknown in the archiver Option List, please email and let me know. Thanks! I would like to welcome UNDER THE SUN BBS located in Spain as the newest official distribution site for ACT. DPA 1.1a - I could only compress files around 500k or smaller with DPA or I would get an out-of-memory error. This is why you see DPA listed in a couple of the tests and not in others. ESP 1.5 - A solid archiver written in assembler with many extension sorting options. ESP is fast and compresses on par with PKZIP. It compresses well if there are many files of the same type to take advantage of it's solid mode. For more info e-mail: garpad@sparta.banki.hu To get a copy: ftp.elf.stuba.sk /pub/pc/pack/esp_v15.exe JAR 1.01c - This BETA2 release of JAR contains some bug fixes and a new password authentication method. JAR also seems a little faster and can compress slightly better in this release. JAR comes in both 16 and 32bit versions. JAR.CFG: ------- XmsLimit=18432 EmsLimit=18432 32MemoryLimit=16384 CheckAvailableMemory=No For more info e-mail: robjung@world.std.com To get a copy: ftp.elf.stuba.sk /pub/pc/pack/jar101cx.exe PKARC 3.5 - Someone asked me to include PKARC because he was sure that it would beat all other archivers in speed. It is interesting to see that PKZIP in super-fast mode beats PKARC in speed in most cases. It is also interesting to see that PKARC beats PKZIP -es in compression in the TXT file test. PKZIP 2.5 Win95 - PKWARE has a version of PKZIP available for both Windows 3.1 and 95. With the popularity of Windows, I am surprised that PKWARE took so long before they released a full Windows version. The Win95 version can compress slightly better than the DOS 2.04g version and is also faster in some regards. It includes built-in ability to encrypt and multispan disks, even create self-extracting multi-disk archives. For more info e-mail: support@pkware.com To get a copy: ftp.pkware.com OR www.pkware.com ZIPSERVER v2.12.2 - ZipServer creates and extracts PKZIP 2.04g compatible archives. It supports long-filenames, multi-disk spanning, passwords. It also contains a development kit so authors can include calls to the ZipServer to uncompress and compress ZIP files from their programs. For more info e-mail: 71744.3633@compuserve.com +------------------+ | PGP INFO | +------------------+ Anyone wishing to send me updated versions of archivers or email may use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) v2.6 or above to encrypt the info. Listed below is my PGP public key which you can use to encrypt a binary file or ascii file into RADIX-64 ascii format. After you have encrypted the file, you can then send it to me via email at my Internet address listed below. When you use my public key to encrypt something with PGP, only I can decrypt the file so you can be certain that whatever you send will only be seen by me. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3ia mQCNAy53etMAAAEEAM9FrKHl4ZSsNl15zzbtYZoC48e4WT83AsdH5vHr7P0npRIM unbDNUdBbQ0ZGppG4a0ccYpLs8EAkGJLGL28JCZzk4LDCLxCn14VoeVZSV25S0mj 1ApwoTUrzqWsrdbaeGdeJ1IBxG2zc9SMMDq3htPcGzb/KQvAbbgiZykcOlgBAAUR tCJKZWZmIEdpbGNocmlzdCA8amVmZmdAbmJuZXQubmIuY2E+iQCVAgUQMmlDrrgi ZykcOlgBAQFo5QP+PNjx3g8Qr7PdfaKusPj2vNbqz5Eof2l/RhyzPd3tPAFhtDWB Nq/pi5+LIMQuCjLIN2rFhkjkQKDlj/8moixJGqxKt2k9yAk6pwkiMPxKXXN8HUeA hWh0J+6gJSaszMD/4QICbGp7YbrrYoH9URgaO0/Qn7JLvz4TnD5dQarosR60HUpl ZmYgR2lsY2hyaXN0IDxqZWZmZ0BtaS5uZXQ+iQCVAgUQMYeBg7giZykcOlgBAQG2 lAQAkxkDz4UqiRE9dA2uZjrcR51UO5qKt0X54FfNg5NfYmogW+n25ExJvuedevRg 5C8tNZRtaPsgBY9wV2hqX23zI5oqgf/w1GRwvxuBMSoyk7V2L/BaC/0rIeHV8ON6 95nd2OnbdExVp7aYoE0XuLj4398Lc+e5IzS8WmZ7ybaH3t0= =5h8b -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to send me some EMAIL and I will try and reply as soon as I can. INTERNET: jeffg@nbnet.nb.ca +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | HOW TO GET THE LATEST COPY OF THE ARCHIVE COMPARISON TEST | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ ** Official Distribution Sites ** Via BBS ------- DANGER UNLiMiTED (Canada) SysOp: Kit Thong +1-403-280-3778 300bps - 28,800bps Login ID: DISTRO No password required. UNDER THE SUN BBS (Spain) SysOps: Nebulus & Parallax +34-6-3610206 300bps - 28,800bps v.34/vFC Login ID: ACT Password: ACTEST Open: 23:00 to 06:00 GMT Via FIDONET File-Request (FREQ) ------------------------------- LineLife M/F (Germany) SysOp: Horst Hackenbruch FREQable under the magic name: ACT Most archivers also available on this site. 2:2433/940 (300 - 128,000bps Zyxel/v.34/v.110/v.120/x.75/DMS100) Phone: +49-2173-967910 2:2433/941 (ISDN: ELINK EL310, x.75 ESDD-1) Phone: +49-2173-967911 Via Internet ------------ WWW: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/4264/act.html FTP: ftp.simtel.net /pub/simtelnet/msdos/arcers/actest??.zip FTP: ftp.elf.stuba.sk /pub/pc/pack/actest??.zip FINGER: s0b8@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca MAILING LIST: A.C.T. E-mail Mailing List ------------ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: jeffg@nbnet.nb.ca with ONE of the following four in the SUBJECT of the message. SUBSCRIBE ACT-FULL SUBSCRIBE ACT-TOP50 SUBSCRIBE ACT-MIME SUBSCRIBE ACT-UUENCODED SUBSCRIBE ACT-INFO ACT-FULL - The full Archive Comparison Test in ASCII format. (Around 75k) ACT-TOP50 - Smaller version of A.C.T. with top 50 entries of each section in ASCII format. (Around 50k) ACT-MIME - Mime encoded ZIP file of the full A.C.T. (Around 30k) ACT-UUENCODED - Uuencoded ZIP file of the full A.C.T. (Around 30k) ACT-INFO - Notified when new Archive Comparison Test is released To unsubscribe from the mailing list, send an e-mail to: jeffg@nbnet.nb.ca with the SUBJECT: UNSUBSCRIBE ACT ------------ ** If you are not listed above, you are NOT an official ** ** distribution site. ** -- -= JEFF GILCHRIST =- (New Brunswick, Canada) - Author Of A.C.T. - Internet: jeffg@nbnet.nb.ca