ACE (compressed file format): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:18, 2 June 2012

Revision as of 16:11, 2 July 2012

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{{about|the data compression format|the file format specification used in genomics|ACE file format}}

{{wikify|date=May 2012}}

{{Infobox file format

| name = ACE

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In [[computing]], '''ACE''' is a proprietary [[data compression]] archive [[file format]] developed by Marcel Lemke, and later bought by e-merge GmbH. The peak of its popularity was 1999–2001, when it [[provided]] slightly better compression rates than [[RAR]], which has since become more popular.

==WinAce==

{{main|WinAce}}

[[WinAce]], maintained by e-merge GmbH, is used to compress and decompress ACE files under [[Microsoft Windows]]. When installed, it lets the user choose between paying for a registration or installing [[WhenU]] [[adware]]. e-merge GmbH also produces a [[Commandline ACE]] for DOS; and a freeware [[command-line]] decompression tool for Linux ([[Intel 80386|i386]]) and Mac OS X called "Unace". e-merge GmbH also provides several libraries for developers, including a freeware decompression [[Dynamic-link library|DLL]] called "UnACE.DLL". Some third-party [[archivers]] can read the format using this DLL. None of the above is [[open source]] [[free software]].

An older version of an Unace 1.2b is [[free software]] and licensed under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] by the author Marcel Lemke, but it cannot extract ACE archives from version 2.0 and newer.<ref>http://packages.debian.org/stable/utils/unace</ref>