Re: GNU grep 2.5.4 released

[Antonio Diaz Diaz]

Tim Waugh wrote:
> Use xz, which is newer and the file format is now stable.

Xz is not newer. It is simply the new name of lzma-utils[1].
[1] 
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_name=200812311955.00120.lasse.collin%40tukaani.org&forum_name=lzmautils-announce
"The new code base of LZMA Utils was renamed to XZ Utils."

Lzip is stable, and has been so thoroughly tested that I can almost 
guarantee it has no data losing bugs. Xz on the other hand is in beta, 
and includes a lot of features not needed for source code distribution.

Even the author of xz admits that "using a beta software with tons of 
unneeded features didn't sound a good idea"[2].
[2] http://tukaani.org/pkgtools/details

The new features of the xz format (filters, filter chaining), in case 
they are really useful, can be more conveniently provided by separate 
utilities that can then be included in zutils[3] and used with any 
compressor.
[3] http://www.nongnu.org/lzip/zutils.html


Regards,
Antonio.