[Article Proposal] Testing files with Fedora

Say you have a batch of old floppies or hard drives with files of indeterminate age and quality. How do you tell what is good, bad or generally bitrotted.

The article would focus on verifying the condition of various file types using open source tools. The types include compressed files (gzip, bzip2, gz, etc.), document formats (.docx, pdf, epub, etc.), and image formats (gif, jpeg, etc.). The tools will be in Fedora for the most part. There may be a few obscure formats that will need special tools (like ace, zoo, etc.).

Good idea? Bad idea? Formats to add?

Sounds great. +1 :slightly_smiling_face:

I have started writing the initial article. Finding all sorts of utilities that I never knew existed. (unar for example.) It is going to need to be split into a number of parts, but that is to be expected. I am going to look through some of my old Walnut Creek CDs to find formats that I have forgotten about. (arj and zoo come to mind.)

Is there a document on recommended article formatting?

Yes. Please try to follow the recommendations here: Tips for article style, grammar, content, and SEO :: Fedora Docs

Also, just FYI before you get too far along, technically another editor needs to “+1” your idea before it is approved for publication. You might not want to do too much work until you get that official approval.

Thanks.

I am enjoying the digital archeology, so it is not a waste, even if it never sees the light of day. (I have files stretching back to the old DOS era. Bringing back a lot of memories of BBSes and ftp archives.) Learning a lot just revisiting the archives of ancient lore.

+1 from me
Taiga card #326 created with title “Testing files with Fedora Linux”

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@alano Have you logged into the Taiga Kanban board yet? After you sign in Taiga, will recognized you and it will allow the editors to assign card #326 to you.

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I have signed in. I have not seen it get assigned. I expect it is just the weekend eating people’s brains.

Hi Alan. I’ve added you to the card. The reason for the delay is because we did not know that you had signed in until you informed us here on this forum. It is not possible to tell who has signed into the Taiga system.