A disturbing trend has developed as of late. With the proliferation of multiple compression utilities, it seems that everyone has begun to create self-extracting archives (SEAs). While this is all-and-well, self-extracting archives add to the file sizes of files being transferred. In some cases, the use of SEAs has become excessiveΓÇöIΓÇÖve seen more than an occassional 10K archive which has been uploaded to a BBS in a SEA format. These files, which were once nice, small, innocent, Γëê10K files have been mutated into Γëê24K or Γëê30K monsters. While it may not be a big deal when downloading a single file, it definitely begins to add up download after download. With DeSEA, sysops can easily convert entire download directories to non-self extracting archives, thereby decreasing storage and wasted download time.
WHAT IT DOES
DeSEA removes the burdensome code which turns little archives into big terrors. What DeSEA does is first strip the resource fork of the archive, removing the CODE, BNDL, and other unnecessary resources, reset the Finder flags, and rename the archive from a .sea suffix to its appropriate suffix (if applicable). DeSEA can be run on a single file or on an entire folder of files. DeSEA is currently configured to detect the two most common (and the only ones I know of) .sea formats, Compact Pro and StuffIt (various flavors). Since new formats are always emerging, you may configure DeSEA with ResEdit by altering the .Dkey resource. A ResEdit template is included in the application.
THANKS TO…
The beta-testers on my local BBSΓÇÖs: Boston Computer Society, The Graphics Factory, and TomΓÇÖs BBS. Special thanks to Barry Wolman for some good suggestions as well as many bug reports.
DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION
DeSEA is Freeware. Online services, bulletin boards, and user-groups may distribute DeSEA without restriction. Companies like Educorp, which make money on programs which I have deemed ΓÇ£freeΓÇ¥ must request permission, in writing, to distribute DeSEA.
Use it in good health, cut down on your phone bills, go on nice vacations, and send me a postcard. If you find DeSEA useful, why not send me postcard of your place of business, hometown, school, or where you most recently vacationed. Bug reports, comments, and suggestions are always welcome either by US Snail or electronic mail.
