Could we use something better than zip for the dmd package?

[Nick Sabalausky]

"Walter Bright" <newshound2 at digitalmars.com> wrote in message 
news:jcsbja$1pu7$1 at digitalmars.com...
> On 12/21/2011 1:31 AM, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
>> I thought the installers were for newbies. 7z is supported by 7zip,
>> winrar, and even winzip.
>>
>> I really don't see how someone can be smart enough to use a systems
>> programming language but not have a clue how to download an archiver.
>> Even average people hate the default zip functionality of Windows and
>> they install 7zip/winrar/etc.
>
> Because it's annoying.
>
> The idea should be to have as few steps as possible to install. Searching 
> the intarnets for a 7z decoder, wondering if the one you're downloading is 
> a virus, etc., is annoying.

If you're a programmer, or even just a power user, you have absolutely no 
excuse not to *already* have a 7z-capable program installed.

Christ, even the "least-common-denominator" piracy scene has standardized on 
rar which has *exactly* the same accessibility level as 7z. (All the major 
rar programs on windows already support 7z, and on unix, getting 7z is a 
one-liner, no harder than getting rar: On debian-based: "sudo apt-get 
install p7zip-full" - *if* it isn't already installed by default, which it 
often is.)

I'm normally one of the biggest fans of "don't exclude anyone", but what the 
hell programmer is limited to whatever archive support just happens to be 
built into Windows? Seriously, who *doesn't* have at the very least WinRAR, 
or something akin to it?

I'm personally ok with DMD coming in zip, but zip's alleged ubiquity is just 
not a valid reason.