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Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars

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On 2013-07-09, Dave Angel <davea@davea.name> wrote:
>> One of the first Python project I undertook was a program to
>> dump the ZSCII strings from Infocom game files. They are
>> mostly packed one character per 5 bits, with escapes to (I had
>> to recheck the Z-machine spec) latin-1. Oh, those clever
>> implementors: thwarting hexdumping cheaters and cramming their
>> games onto microcomputers with one blow.
>
> In 1973 I played with encoding some data that came over the
> public airwaves (I never learned the specific radio technology,
> probably used sidebands of FM stations). The data was encoded,
> with most characters taking 5 bits, and the decoded stream was
> like a ticker-tape.  With some hardware and the right software,
> you could track Wall Street in real time.  (Or maybe it had the
> usual 15 minute delay).
>
> Obviously, they didn't publish the spec any place. But some
> others had the beginnings of a decoder, and I expanded on that.
> We never did anything with it, it was just an interesting
> challenge.

Interestingly similar scheme. It wonder if 5-bit chars was a
common compression scheme. The Z-machine spec was never
officially published either. I believe a "task force" reverse
engineered it sometime in the 90's.

-- 
Neil Cerutti

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hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars blatt <ferdy.blatsco@gmail.com> - 2013-07-07 17:22 -0700
  Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-08 11:17 +1000
  Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-08 05:48 +0000
  Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars ferdy.blatsco@gmail.com - 2013-07-08 10:31 -0700
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-09 03:52 +1000
      Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-11 06:18 -0700
        Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-11 23:32 +1000
          Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-11 11:42 -0700
            Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-11 11:44 -0700
            Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-12 03:18 +0000
              Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-12 14:42 -0700
            Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-12 12:16 +1000
              Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-13 00:56 -0700
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Lele Gaifax <lele@metapensiero.it> - 2013-07-13 10:24 +0200
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-13 09:36 +0000
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-13 19:46 +1000
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-13 09:49 +0000
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-13 20:09 +1000
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-13 07:37 -0700
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Dave Angel <davea@davea.name> - 2013-07-13 15:02 -0400
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-14 01:20 -0700
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-14 10:44 +0000
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-14 06:44 -0700
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-24 06:28 -0700
                Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Neil Hodgson <nhodgson@iinet.net.au> - 2013-07-14 09:17 +1000
  Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars ferdy.blatsco@gmail.com - 2013-07-08 10:53 -0700
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-09 04:07 +1000
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Dave Angel <davea@davea.name> - 2013-07-08 16:56 -0400
      Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> - 2013-07-09 12:22 +0000
        Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Dave Angel <davea@davea.name> - 2013-07-09 08:54 -0400
          Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Neil Cerutti <neilc@norwich.edu> - 2013-07-09 13:00 +0000
            Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Skip Montanaro <skip@pobox.com> - 2013-07-09 08:18 -0500
            Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Dave Angel <davea@davea.name> - 2013-07-09 09:23 -0400
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars MRAB <python@mrabarnett.plus.com> - 2013-07-08 22:38 +0100
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-09 07:49 +1000
      Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-09 06:53 +0000
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Joshua Landau <joshua.landau.ws@gmail.com> - 2013-07-08 23:02 +0100
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Dave Angel <davea@davea.name> - 2013-07-08 18:45 -0400
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-07-09 08:51 +1000
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars MRAB <python@mrabarnett.plus.com> - 2013-07-09 00:32 +0100
      Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-09 06:46 +0000
    Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-09 07:00 +0000
      Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-09 02:34 -0700
        Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Chris “Kwpolska” Warrick <kwpolska@gmail.com> - 2013-07-09 12:15 +0200
          Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-09 16:32 +0000
            Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars wxjmfauth@gmail.com - 2013-07-10 01:52 -0700
        Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Joshua Landau <joshua@landau.ws> - 2013-07-12 23:01 +0100
          Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Tim Roberts <timr@probo.com> - 2013-07-12 20:42 -0700
          Re: hex dump w/ or w/out utf-8 chars Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-07-13 04:51 +0000

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