lha in Aminet

[mrmoonlight]

Hi i know theres loads of stuff in Aminet,but im not sure how do i open it after i have downloaded it ,sorry if this question as already been asked a thousand times ,i used the search button but not really found much out ,any help please

[stachu100]

On Amiga platforms there are programs called "lha" and "lzx" - enough for 95% of files stored on Aminet. Zip files and rar files can be un-packed by using "unzip" or "unrar" programs. All these programs must be launched from shell. There are un-packing programs with GUI, but it's another story. AOS3.9 is equipped with GUI un-packer already.

Under Windows:
Use WinRAR - the best choice.

[ElPolloDiabl]

Go into the system drawer and then open the Shell/CLI
Cd to the download directory e.g. cd dh0:
Type lha.exe or lha.sfx (make sure you downloaded the self extracting version.
the command to extract something lha e filename
If you want you can copy lha to the c directory (commands). Which is automatically assigned.

[ajk]

Just to make it clear, the self-extracting archive for the lha executable (for extracting other .lha archives on the Amiga) is lha.run. And lzx is here.

If you unpack on a PC, be warned that sometimes the file flags (executable, read-only etc.) may go wrong.

[x303]

the command to extract something lha e filename

That has to be: lha x filename ==>  extract files with full path.

[Tenacious]

This is one of the areas in which the Amiga really shines because of directory utilities (like Dopus 4.xx, Ordering, DiskMaster, etc) and the ram disk.

In Dopus, for example, you can assign one of its buttons (or menus) to be "UnLHA".  You would then only have to figure out the required command line arguments (in LHA's docs) once when configuring the button.  There after, all files compressed with LHA would require a click to select the file and another click on the new button.  All of the directory utilities listed above have more capacity to be customized than I can ever need.

Amiga has the best implimented ram disk of ANY OS I have ever used.  If you have enough ram, any program, utility, etc can be un-archived to the ram disk and then executed directly from there.  You can test the new program, see if it meets your expectations.  If you like it, you can find a permanent home for it on your floppy or HD.  If not, merely delete it from the ram disk, and nothing in your OS setup has been altered or disturbed.  (Try that with any OS that relies upon a registry-like file.)

If this seems like a lot to take on, a number of Dopus users have uploaded their configuration files to Aminet as examples of clever use of the program.

[Tempest]

RAM disk is indeed very handy and I use it a quite often but it's not something Amiga exclusive or better done. RAM disks existed long before Amiga.

For example Atari 8bit DOS's and MSX-DOS use RAM disks pretty much in the same way and they can be used just like you discribed above. I've used both systems before I got my Amiga and I still do occasionally and on both I use the RAM disk just like on my Amiga's, unarchive stuff, run programs from it, store temporary data or config files.

/edit
On both the Atari and MSX RAM disk survives reboots and it's nowadays even possible to use battery backed up RAM on the Atari 8-bit so the contents of the RAM disk are still there even when you turn off the computer.

[Tenacious]

RAM disk is indeed very handy and I use it a quite often but it's not something Amiga exclusive. RAM disks existed long before Amiga.

For example Atari 8bit DOS's and MSX-DOS use RAM disks pretty much in the same way and they can be used just like you discribed above. I've used both systems before I got my Amiga and I still do occasionally and on both I use the RAM disk just like on my Amiga's, unarchive stuff, run programs from it, store temporary data or config files.

Yes, Apple 8-bit computers were the the first that I noticed them.

The beauty of Amiga's ram disk is that it is dynamically allocated.  If the user puts nothing there, it uses few system resources.  If files are stored there, it balloons to the required size.  When those files are removed, the memory that was required by the ram disk is returned to the system.  Very elegant and built into the OS from the beginning.

I don't remember any other OS doing a ram disk as well (It seems the user had to allocate the memory for a fixed size ram disk.).  Correct me if I'm wrong.

EDIT:  I just saw your edit.  That is cool, especially the powered Off retention.  Amiga does have RAD: as well.  It survives a warm reboot and the "boot" disk can be moved to there.  This makes for a very fast Amiga after the initial loading.

[mrmoonlight]

Hi thankyou to everyone for there help,i am very grateful,and will try all the advice i have been given,thanks again

[save2600]

after downloading off Aminet, might want to rename lha.run to just lha and throw it in your 'C' drawer.

[doctorq]

after downloading off Aminet, might want to rename lha.run to just lha and throw it in your 'C' drawer.

Since lha.run is a selfextracting archive, renaming lha.run would be rather stupid, unless you want the archive to extract the LHA executables every time you run it. You'd better rename one of the executables after having run lha.run.