tree e05f4421fc7f0e5c6b9bf39e1e45fbdaedc80769
parent ca5d86d52c979cef05a614fb725870c10be9b265
author Daniel Edgecumbe <git@esotericnonsense.com> 1567458555 +0100
committer Denys Vlasenko <vda.linux@googlemail.com> 1567682818 +0200

gzip: set default compression level to 6 when CONFIG_FEATURE_GZIP_LEVELS=n

With this change, GNU gzip -n and BusyBox gzip now produce identical output
assuming that CONFIG_GZIP_FAST=2.

>> Excuse me, but I wonder one thing: Why should we follow
>> strictly with gzip on the no-options default behavior?

> First, the default 6 compression level is a de-facto standard. BSD gzip
> and Apple gzip (on macOS) use this default as well. So there is a
> reasonable expectation that different gzip implementations act the same.
> For instance, if the default for busybox gzip becomes 9, then someone
> writing a script using busybox gzip could reasonably expect that the
> compression level will still be 9 when the same script is run on another
> system. That would be wrong. Implementations should not deviate from
> de-facto standards without a strong reason.
>
> Second, the inherent reason for this default has not gone away. While
> processor speeds have exploded since the default was set, so has the
> typical size of compressed files. Multiple gigabytes are nothing unusual
> these days. And gzip is often used for compression on the fly, precisely
> because it offers a good compromise between speed and compression ratio.
> So I believe 6 continues to be a reasonable default.

function                                             old     new   delta
deflate                                              939     927     -12

Signed-off-by: Daniel Edgecumbe <git@esotericnonsense.com>
Signed-off-by: Denys Vlasenko <vda.linux@googlemail.com>