rsync and Source.gz|Source files

[Jochen Hepp <jochen.hepp@gmx.de>]

Hello,

on Fri Apr 21 21:18:33 2001, I wrote the following mail to
ftpmaster@debian.org but neither got an answer nor does anything
changes.  So maybe the mail wasn't delivered or lost and so
I mail this once more:

I have a question concerning the `Sources.gz' files (beeing more
precise the not available `Sources' files ;) in the debian ftp archiv.

When updating the available package lists via rsync it is much faster
to update the file `debian/dists/stable/main/arch/Packages' than
to update the file `debian/dists/stable/main/arch/Packages.gz'.
I think rsync can't see the small differences when they are   
"rearranged" in a gzip file.

So it would be a dream to have all "Packages" and "Sources" files in both
versions: for those who download it without having a local older copy of
the same file in a compressed format (Sources.gz|Packages.gz), and for
those who rsync it in an uncompressed format (Sources|Packages).
(rsync even supports compressing the difference it sents -- after
comparing the uncompressed files --- by using the `-z' option.)

I don't now how the `Packages' | `Packages.gz' files are kept in sync
but maybe this mechanism could be also applied to other files who change
only in a small subset -- in this case the `Sources' files.

                                                So far,
                                                         Jochen