[OS X TeX] Using 'ditto' to shrink /usr/local/texlive folder

[Simon Burrell]

Hi,

Mac Pro (2010), OS X 10.6.8, MacTex 2011, BasicTex 2010 (probably soon to
be deleted)

I hope you don't mind if I do a 'hit-and-run'.  In the interests of saving
space I'd like to apply hfsCompression to the /usr/local/texlive folder.
 I'll be making a backup prior to doing so, and I have Time Machine, but I
thought it prudent to see if anyone could highlight any foreseeable
problems with this action before proceeding---it'd be nice to avoid a
tedious re-install procedure :-)  The exact command I'm intending to apply
is:

sudo ditto --hfsCompression /usr/local/texlive /usr/local/texlive2

I would then delete the original texlive folder, and rename the new one to
replace it.  For those who might not know, 'ditto' now preserves resource
forks, HFS meta-data, extended attributes, quarantine information and ACLs
by default.  So, would I, for example, have to re-create the symbolic links
that point to this folder?

In addition, it might be nice to thin the 'texlive' folder by also using
the '--arch x86_64' switch---my Mac uses the 64-bit kernel by default, you
see.  Does anyone know whether this particular switch would cause problems?
 To clarify, the full command would be:

sudo ditto --arch x86_64 --hfsCompression /usr/local/texlive
/usr/local/texlive2

Your feedback appreciated.

Regards.
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