Re: feature request: gzip/bzip support for sort

[Dan Hipschman]

On Sun, Jan 21, 2007 at 10:41:11PM +0100, Jim Meyering wrote:
> This is a good argument for using libz by default, not a separate
> gzip program.  Why incur the overhead of an exec when we don't need to?
> Now, I'm convinced that sort should provide built-in support for both
> gzip and bzip2.  How to select built-in vs. actually exec the program
> is something to think about...
> Of course it should still be possible to specify some other program.

Well, was there anything wrong with my original LZO patch?  It shouldn't
be too hard to replace LZO with libz.  I don't disagree with you about
using libz in addition to an external program, but if the current patch
gives performance gains, why not check it in (once the wrinkles are
ironed out) and add more optimizations later?  At least that way I can
take a break (aha, the real motivation comes out), and pick up where I
left off later without worrying about the code changing under my feet.