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@Copilot Copilot AI commented Oct 5, 2025

Overview

This PR addresses the issue where users found it difficult to understand what Plexus Archiver is and how it compares to Apache Commons Compress, especially why one should choose Plexus Archiver over Commons Compress.

Changes

Updated README.md to include:

1. Introduction Section

Added a "What is Plexus Archiver?" section that clearly describes Plexus Archiver as a high-level Java API for creating and extracting archives with a simple, unified interface.

2. Comprehensive Comparison Section

Added a detailed "Comparison to Apache Commons Compress" section that explains:

  • The Relationship: Plexus Archiver builds on top of Apache Commons Compress (since version 2.5) as a higher-level abstraction layer
  • Commons Compress Capabilities: What the low-level library provides (direct format access, fine-grained control, streaming API, etc.)
  • Plexus Archiver Advantages: What the higher-level abstraction adds:
    • Simplified, builder-style API
    • Advanced features like file selectors, reproducible builds, duplicate handling, file mappers, and ZIP bomb protection
    • Build tool integration with modular JAR creation and manifest handling
    • Dependency injection readiness with JSR-330 annotations

3. Decision Guide

Added a "When to Use Which?" section with clear guidance:

  • Use Commons Compress when you need fine-grained control, streaming data handling, or specialized formats
  • Use Plexus Archiver when you want a simple API, are building Maven plugins, need reproducible builds, or want built-in file filtering

Benefits

  • Users can now quickly understand the purpose and value proposition of Plexus Archiver
  • The documentation clarifies that Plexus Archiver complements rather than replaces Commons Compress
  • Developers can make informed decisions about which library to use for their use case
  • All mentioned features are supported by the actual codebase (verified through code inspection and release notes)

Fixes #[issue number]

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Add comparison to Commons Compress</issue_title>
<issue_description>For the average user it is hard to understand what the purpose of Plexus Archiver is and how it compares to Commons Compress, especially why one should use Plexus Archiver.

Update README.md accordingly.</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes #89

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Co-authored-by: slachiewicz <6705942+slachiewicz@users.noreply.github.com>
@Copilot Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Add comparison to Commons Compress Add comparison to Apache Commons Compress in README Oct 5, 2025
@Copilot Copilot AI requested a review from slachiewicz October 5, 2025 13:06
Copilot finished work on behalf of slachiewicz October 5, 2025 13:06
@slachiewicz slachiewicz marked this pull request as ready for review October 5, 2025 13:52
@slawekjaranowski
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@slachiewicz what do you think to add it to index.apt?

- You need fine-grained control over archive format details
- You're working with streaming data or large archives
- You need to support specialized or uncommon archive formats
- Memory efficiency is critical
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LOL, that is one of our current problem with plexus-archiver :-)

@slachiewicz slachiewicz closed this Oct 8, 2025
@slachiewicz slachiewicz deleted the copilot/fix-2a45995c-5b87-40f0-9229-82b75bfe1908 branch October 8, 2025 15:52
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Add comparison to Commons Compress

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