Re: OT to Debian [Was: RFC/ITP: Constitution of Finland]
Decklin Foster <fosterd@hartwick.edu> writes:
>
> Bob Hilliard writes:
>
> > /usr/lib/bible.data (from the bible-kjv-data package) is
> > compressed data in a format that can't be read with generic tools,
> > and, presumably, is keyed for fast retrieval by the /usr/bin/bible and
> > /usr/bin/randverse programs.
>
> OK, I have to ask. How long ago was this compressed, keyed format
> implemented? Is there *really* a noticeable speed difference on a
> reasonably modern computer? Are there any space savings compared to
> gzip?
I have no idea of these details for the bible tools. Since these
tools permit extracting any individual verse or verses, partial or
whole chapters, etc., it would be very difficult to benchmark against
standard tools.
On the other hand the dict-* packages use the DICT Protocol,
which is described in RFC2229, October 1997. With a P166 there is a
very noticeable speed difference between a dict lookup and a search
from within less or using grep. One of the major advantages of using
the dict interface is that it only returns the specified word where it
is identified as a headword, not where it is mentioned in the body of
a definition.
Bob
--
_
|_) _ |_ Robert D. Hilliard <hilliard@debian.org>
|_) (_) |_) Palm City, FL USA PGP Key ID: A8E40EB9
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