[GH-ISSUE #8] Alternative method to create test files #8

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opened 2026-02-28 00:40:07 +03:00 by kerem · 1 comment
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Originally created by @telephone on GitHub (Nov 14, 2012).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/telephone/LookingGlass/issues/8

For those who host their test files behind SSL or gzip, sparse files can be compressed giving the illusion of a "quicker than possible speed".
To alleviate this problem, offer an alternative way to create test files:

head -c 100MB /dev/urandom > 100MB.test

Instead of a sparse file (empty file) via DD, head will create a file populated file via urandom.
The result is a file which shouldn't be compressible.

Add a warning for file creation time:
It takes roughly 30 seconds to create a 100 MB file.

Originally created by @telephone on GitHub (Nov 14, 2012). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/telephone/LookingGlass/issues/8 For those who host their test files behind SSL or gzip, sparse files can be compressed giving the illusion of a "quicker than possible speed". To alleviate this problem, offer an alternative way to create test files: `head -c 100MB /dev/urandom > 100MB.test` Instead of a sparse file (empty file) via DD, head will create a file populated file via urandom. The result is a file which **shouldn't** be compressible. Add a warning for file creation time: It takes roughly 30 seconds to create a 100 MB file.
kerem 2026-02-28 00:40:07 +03:00
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@telephone commented on GitHub (Apr 28, 2013):

Released in v2.

Test files are created via shred, and are quicker to populate versus head... They are also gzip/ssl compression safe.

<!-- gh-comment-id:17127679 --> @telephone commented on GitHub (Apr 28, 2013): Released in v2. Test files are created via `shred`, and are quicker to populate versus `head`... They are also gzip/ssl compression safe.
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