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Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format
From: |
Mark Adler |
Subject: |
Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format |
Date: |
Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:03:25 -0700 |
On Aug 16, 2010, at 4:16 PM, Paul Eggert wrote:
> We really want interoperability here.
However it does not seem possible to both have interoperability and to always
provide a correct uncompressed length in the stream.
Since we'd have to give up on interoperability to completely solve the problem,
then the obvious solution is to use one of the reserved bits (bit 6 or 7 in
flags) to signal a variable size extra field after the current trailer.
(Variable in that the length of the extra field is not provided in the gzip
header, but rather in the extra field itself.) Then we have an extensible
means to add data to the end of a gzip stream, including the uncompressed
length (which itself could be variable in length, since the gzip format may
persist past the year 2040 when we may find that 63 bits is not enough).
Current versions of gzip and pigz would correctly reject the stream since a
reserved bit is set. (I just checked.) That has the upside to strongly
encourage updating to new versions of the tools.
Mark
- RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Paul Eggert, 2010/08/15
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Greg Roelofs, 2010/08/15
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Mark Adler, 2010/08/15
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Greg Roelofs, 2010/08/16
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Paul Eggert, 2010/08/16
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format,
Mark Adler <=
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Mark Adler, 2010/08/17
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Paul Eggert, 2010/08/19
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Mark Adler, 2010/08/20
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Greg Roelofs, 2010/08/20
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Mark Adler, 2010/08/20
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Mark Adler, 2010/08/20
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Mark Adler, 2010/08/21
- Re: RFC: fixing the 32-bit size and time limits in gzip file format, Mark Adler, 2010/08/16