What are the downsides of UPXing the EXEs?
Im guessing the app menu is UPX'd as its over 1mb when compiled but what about the other apps, Firefox for example can be upx'ed down from 7mb to 3mb. Im guessing there is a reason its left as is, either legal or technical.
Edit: Just found out UPXing an exe is a modification so in the case of FF breaks the license agreement. Understandable.
Also, the main problem with USB flash is its slow to read and write, so would a smaller EXE actually load faster as its less info to read, it just takes processing power to decompress but there so small it takes no time. Right or wrong?
Thanks
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Flash memory doesn't have a slow read speed, only a slow write speed.
would a smaller EXE actually load faster as its less info to read, it just takes processing power to decompress but there so small it takes no time. Right or wrong?
I doubt there would be any noticeable difference unless the file is huge.
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>>would a smaller EXE actually load faster as its less info to read, it just takes >>processing power to decompress but there so small it takes no time. Right or wrong?
>I doubt there would be any noticeable difference unless the file is huge.
Wrong. Even on fast computers there is noticable difference on programs as big as FF.
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It is indeed a modification of the binary (though not of the source) so you need permission in many cases. In the case of the Mozilla apps, it is not permitted. We'd already stopped doing it anyway with the 1.5 release as UPXing breaks partial updates.
It does decrease load times, especially for slower drives and over USB 1.1 connections (which you may unwittingly find yourself on one day). Keep in mind that flash drive read time, although not too bad, is still much slower than reading from a hard drive.
There's also a size benefit. The install-size on the portable device can be decreased quite a bit, allowing you to keep more apps and files with you. OpenOffice.org Portable, for instance, winds up being under 180MB instead of around 220MB thanks to UPX plus recompressing JARs and ZIPs with 7-Zip.
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