gzip
Gzip, short for GNU zip, is a software application used for compressing files, thereby saving disk space.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| gzip foo | Encode the file foo and replaces it with the compressed file foo.gz |
| gzip -d foo.gz | Decodes the gzip file foo.gz and replaces it with the decompressed file foo |
Gzip is suitable for most applications. For more compression, bzip2 (discussed below) may be more suitable.
bzip2
Bzip2 is a software application that compresses most files more effectively than gzip but is slower.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| bzip2 foo | Encodes file foo and replaces it with the compressed file foo.bz2 |
| bunzip2 foo.bz2 |
Decodes the bzip2 file foo.bz2 and replaces it with the decompressed file foo. |
tar
Tar, derived from tape archive, is a software application for archiving files and directories. Tar is also capable of compressing files using gzip or bzip2.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| tar -cvfz foo.tgz dir-name | Creates an archive with the contents of the dir-name directory, then compresses the archive into the file foo.tgz. (The options c,v,f and z stand for "create", "verbose" (list the files being archived to the console), "file name follows" (the archive name is the next argument), and "zip" respectively) |
| tar -xvfz foo.tgz | Decompresses the archive foo.tgz, then extracts the archived files and directories. (The options x, v, f and z stand for "extract", "verbose" (list the files being extracted to the console), "file name follows" (the archive name is the next argument) and "unzip" respectively) |
It is recommended that you "tar up" any files/directories that you will not be using for an extended period of time in order to save quota space.