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The Shadow
Registered: Oct 2007
Posts: 304 |
IFFL
This is more of a cracker question but I know someone reading this will know what this is. What does the acronym IFFL stand for and what is it? |
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Burglar
Registered: Dec 2004
Posts: 1101 |
IFFL |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5094 |
its purpose is to save space on disk. a disk is organized into tracks and sectors. now a file's last sector will be most of the time not 100% used. (same problem as on HDDs, many small files eats up more disk space than their size) IFFL chains together many files into one big one to avoid wasting sector space at the end of the files. You have a special loader routine that can handle this, and a tool to chain&save files. |
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tlr
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1790 |
Tried to parse that post, but the ackronym wasn't really explained as far as I could see.
IFFL appeared long after my time, but I always though it stood for "In File Fast Loading" or something like that.
As for what it does, I believe that it can be explained as random access to files contained in a single large .prg.
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baxxx
Account closed
Registered: Jan 2006
Posts: 6 |
Using the abbreviation IFFL makes following a T/S chain appearing like rocket science ;) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11386 |
the funny thing is that early IFFL linkers often didnt even save space at all, since they really only linked several files into one, including the gaps =) |
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cadaver
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 1160 |
Some other variations it can stand for:
Interflexible File Loader
Interflexible File Linking
Integrated File Flexible Loader
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tlr
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1790 |
According to this: http://www.zds-bayern.org/gp/history.htm
Antichrist claims to have coined the term IFFL:
"Snacky also invented a new method of packing multiple small files into one big file. We called this new technique IFFL, or Interactive Flexible File Linking. I had come up with that name because I didn't quite understand the procedure."
Maybe used in this: Forgotten Worlds +11? |
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cadaver
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 1160 |
Ah, shitty double post by Mozilla. Was about to say the same thing. |
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tlr
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1790 |
Any way, it seems that the original "IFFL" was indeed just stacking a bunch of files end-to-end into one file. No high-tech in-drive loader stuff.
High-tech loaders stuff was usually kept out of earlier cracks for compatibility reasons (SpeedDos/DolphinDos/etc...) anyway , so it was probably a deliberate choice. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11386 |
Quote:
Antichrist claims to have coined the term IFFL
indeed, like he claims to have "invented" some other terms (like the infamous typo "graphician", lol)
also the technique wasnt invented by snacky at all, it was used in (original) games long before he wrote his iffl tool. |
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Burglar
Registered: Dec 2004
Posts: 1101 |
Quote: Quote:
Antichrist claims to have coined the term IFFL
indeed, like he claims to have "invented" some other terms (like the infamous typo "graphician", lol)
also the technique wasnt invented by snacky at all, it was used in (original) games long before he wrote his iffl tool.
so which game was the first to have it? |
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TDJ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1879 |
Quote: Quote:
Antichrist claims to have coined the term IFFL
indeed, like he claims to have "invented" some other terms (like the infamous typo "graphician", lol)
also the technique wasnt invented by snacky at all, it was used in (original) games long before he wrote his iffl tool.
Feh, I came up with the term 'scene', way back in the 1820's, but you don't hear me bragging about it. |
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Rough
Account closed
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 1829 |
You're wrong, I used it around the 1790s already, wannabe! |
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TDJ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1879 |
Quote: You're wrong, I used it around the 1790s already, wannabe!
Dude .. I meant 1820's before Christ. I was rocking it when I rolled with the Pharaos.
Oh, and to stay on topic: it was around that time that I came up with IFFL as well. |
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Rough
Account closed
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 1829 |
Pharaohs? phew, lame new school stuff.
Of course I was reffering to Jewish time measurement, that's app. 1970 B.C.
I RULE |
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Jazzcat
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 1044 |
IFFL = Interactive Flexible File Linking.
Some further information on my homepage (interview with Snacky at - http://www.atlantis-prophecy.org/recollection/?load=online&issu..) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11386 |
i wonder whats interactive about it =D |
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Mace
Registered: May 2002
Posts: 1799 |
Groepaz, are you in the Federation Against IFFL or something?
You seem so negative about it... |
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TDJ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1879 |
Quote: Groepaz, are you in the Federation Against IFFL or something?
You seem so negative about it...
Well, the man does have a point: the term is absolute nonsense. Ofcourse, that goes for half the other technical terms from that era as well .. acronym first, meaning second! :) |
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Mace
Registered: May 2002
Posts: 1799 |
Ok, so the answer is given.
Can a mod close this thread now, before it drowns in non sense :) |
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tlr
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1790 |
mmm ok, but maybe we now can discuss some tools and uses for it?
I've never used IFFL myself, but it seems pretty cool. |
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The Shadow
Registered: Oct 2007
Posts: 304 |
Well trading with The Sharks exclusively for so long provided that we always used the same tools. I don't care what anyone says in opposition, Zap!, Darkforce and Paradroid are amongst the greatest crackers ever to have graced the Earth. I was given several IFFL programes designed by Darkforce. Since I was born into the scene originally to get cracking, I learned a little bit before learning to NTSC fix. By the way, Antitrack is also one of the best crackers ever. His IFFLed version of Shadow of the Beast is one sided and is the highest grade version out there. |
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6R6
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 245 |
Quote: so which game was the first to have it?
@Burglar:
Legacy of the Ancients (c) 1987 EOA has iffl.
On the 2nd disk side starting from track 1,0 (if i remember correctly) there are 90 text files linked together.
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MagerValp
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1078 |
Quote: mmm ok, but maybe we now can discuss some tools and uses for it?
I've never used IFFL myself, but it seems pretty cool.
I used it in Ultima IV Gold to be able to fit about 800 files on one disk side. The other IFFL systems I've seen are limited to 128 or 256 files (except maybe n0sdos?), as they keep the track/sector/offset tables in drive ram, so I had to code my own that keeps the tables under $d000. I've been meaning to release the source code, but I haven't had the time...
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5094 |
Quote: Ok, so the answer is given.
Can a mod close this thread now, before it drowns in non sense :)
Mace, are you in the Federation Against Discussions or something?
You seem so negative about it... |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11386 |
Quote:
Groepaz, are you in the Federation Against IFFL or something?
You seem so negative about it...
no, it's just that i think it is a bit overhyped (for the reasons already mentioned). and the abbrevation is stupid :)
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tlr
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1790 |
Quote:no, it's just that i think it is a bit overhyped (for the reasons already mentioned). and the abbrevation is stupid :)
Overhyped, maybe. But it looks so coo with few files in the release.
The BETA SKIP IFFL Mastering + Source ones with only one file, mmm!
Stubid abbrevation... That's how it's supposed to be. e.g ESCOS... :)
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Mason
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 461 |
A bit funny you mention that as most just iffl linked the files to get a few files in the directory. They didnt care about it being the same as the original files (including gaps) instead of masking the technique so it saved some space. |
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hollowman
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 474 |
Quote: IFFL = Interactive Flexible File Linking.
Some further information on my homepage (interview with Snacky at - http://www.atlantis-prophecy.org/recollection/?load=online&issu..)
And in this interview with snacky he says that it stands for Interflexible File Loader =) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11386 |
lol :) |
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Paradroid
Account closed
Registered: Jul 2011
Posts: 10 |
IFFL ... I remember that I've always disliked it, therefore refusing to jump on that hype and using it in own cracks. As my own cracking days were mainly over at Online, and I didn't crack much during my short period of time where I jumped through different groups (TWG, RTI, Paramount, Falcon, Abyss and maybe a few I can't remember), I focused on coding tools instead. Zap! was a very skilled cracker & I liked his style (reminded me of my own habits), and as he got the originals & cracked them by himself, there was nothing much left for me to do (which didn't bother me anyway). So I started some projects, like improving DarkForce's Darksqueezer, adding a scanning routine to it (making it 2 pass like Cruelcruncher) to make it more efficient and other things. One of them was coding an IFFL routine in MASM that Zap! only used a few times as well (I think I've found it in Chips Challenge & Skull and Crossbones). I even coded an IFFL routine for 1581 for fun (just found the source code recently).
I can't remember why I didn't like it. Possibly because of reducing it's compatibility to 1541 only. Not sure if it worked on 1570/71 and surely wouldn't on 1581.
That might be a reason why I never coded a tool for it, besides that source code I've found somewhere on my transferred disks ...
The Paradroid |
