## BZIP2 for VMS - A File Compression/Expansion Utility

### Excerpt from the BZIP2 Web Page

> bzip2 is a freely available, patent free [(see README in the distribution kit)], high-quality data compressor. It typically compresses files to within 10% to 15% of the best available techniques (the PPM family of statistical compressors), whilst being around twice as fast at compression and six times faster at decompression.

### BZIP2 Web Site

- http://www.bzip.org/ - bzip2 : Home

### Caution for VMS Users

BZIP2 is a UNIX-oriented utility, and as such, it has little hope of dealing well with RMS files whose record format is anything other than Stream_LF.

For a more versatile compressor-archiver with greater RMS capability, see the Info-ZIP Home Page.

## BZIP2 1.0.3 for VMS

### BZIP2 1.0.3 VMS-Ready Kit

- VMS port notes (as included in the complete kit, below). This document describes the changes required to build BZIP2 version 1.0.3 on VMS.

  /ftp/bzip2/bzip2-1_0_3b_vms/vms_notes.txt

- Complete kit, including:
  - Source (original and modified).
  - Alpha objects and executable (built on VMS V7.3-2 with Compaq C V6.5-001).
  - IA64 objects and executable (built on VMS V8.2 with HP C S7.1-013).
  - VAX objects and executable (built on VMS V7.3 with Compaq C V6.4-005).

  Note that support for extended file names on ODS5 file systems depends on fairly recent C RTL features, as found in VMS V7.3-2 or VMS V7.3-1 with VMS731_ACRTL V3.0.

  /ftp/bzip2/bzip2-1_0_3b_vms/bzip2-1_0_3b_vms.zip

  The Zip archive for this kit was created using the Zip "-V" option to preserve the VMS file attributes, but the source files in this Zip archive should be usable on a non-VMS system. The VMS port notes mentioned above (and included in the kit) describe how to restore the original mixed-case and/or multi-dot file names in the kit which have been altered to accomodate the more limited VMS ODS2 file system where this work was done.

### Additional Notes for the BZIP2 1.0.3 Kit Above

- A patched version of one of the builder files in this kit ([.VMS]DESCRIP_SRC.MMS) may be found elsewhere on the Web. Apparently it was intended to change the C compiler options from "/names = as_is" to "/names = (as_is,short)/float=ieee".

  This may be useful in cases where the BZIP2 object library is to be used with another application which is built using IEEE floating-point formats, but there's no need to change or replace any builder files in this kit. The same effect may be obtained using the (unmodified) builder in the kit by using documented build options. For example:

      MMS /DESCRIP = [.VMS] /MACRO = (LARGE=1, "CCOPTS=/float=ieee")

  Note that there are no external names in this code which are long enough to be affected by /NAMES = SHORTENED, so the only the /FLOAT = IEEE_FLOAT option (not valid on VAX) has any useful effect.

## BZIP2 for VMS Archive

All versions of BZIP2 for VMS, including older and experimental ones, may be found at the archive: /ftp/bzip2/

FTP access is also available at: ftp://ftp.antinode.org/bzip2/