cross-platform compress & decompress

[Richard Gaskin]

Dave Cragg wrote:

>> I don't think it's a bug as much as a very useful feature with unintended
>> consequences for binary data:  in old versions of the engine, folks
>> complained that data stored in user properties did not have the automatic
>> cross-platform conversion as text in fields enjoy.  So several versions ago
>> this was changed to allow the same for user props.
> 
> Are you sure that's true, Richard? I use custom props for image data,
> audio, and a host of other binary data but haven't noticed any cross
> platform issues.

I may be getting old and feeble, recalling merely a discussion of what would
happen if the request were implemented.

I can't recall a specific instance of custom props failing with binary data
for me, so chalk that up to a lack of sleep until someone confirms/denies it
empirically.

However, i used to have issues sending compressed data over sockets until I
got into the habit of using base64.   But since I've never had a problem
using your excellent libUrl even those may have been user error. :) I
started using base64 early on in my works with sockets, so other factors may
have been at play while I was getting the hang of it.

But the issue seems bigger than Mark and myself:  I recall a number of cases
where using compress/decompress across platforms was discussed here as
problematic, though I don't recall if storing them in user props or
transmitting via sockets was a consistent part of the recipe.

-- 
 Richard Gaskin 
 Fourth World Media Corporation
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