LPI E - Archiving 3.1 Review
3.1 Archiving Files on the Command Line
In this blog, we will discuss how Linux uses compression for files, directories, archives using tar, and other compression tools like gzip, bzip2, xz, zip, and unzip. One of the unique features of Linux is its ability to compress and decompress files and directories to reduce their size. This feature is particularly useful when transferring or archiving large files, saving disk space, and improving system performance.
Tar
Tar is an acronym for Tape Archive, and it is a command-line tool used for archiving files and directories. It allows you to ...
- create
- list
- extract
- compress
The above command will create an archive named archive.tar that includes file1, file2, and directory1. To extract the contents of the archive, use the following command:
$ tar -xvf archive.tar
-x flag tells tar to extract the files,
-v displays the progress of the operation
-f indicates the name of the archive
In addition to tar, Linux has several compression tools to reduce the size of files and directories further. These tools include gzip, bzip2, xz, zip, and unzip.
Gzip
Gzip is a compression tool that is commonly used to compress single files. The gzip command replaces the original file with a compressed file that has the .gz extension. The syntax for compressing a file is as follows:
$ gzip file.txt
This command compresses file.txt and creates a compressed file called file.txt.gz. To decompress a file, use the following command:
$ gzip -d file.txt.gz
The -d flag tells gzip to decompress the file.
Bzip2
Bzip2 is another compression tool that is commonly used to compress single files. Bzip2 typically compresses files better than gzip, but it is slower. The syntax for compressing a file with bzip2 is as follows:
$ bzip2 file.txt
This command compresses file.txt and creates a compressed file called file.txt.bz2. To decompress a file, use the following command:
$ bzip2 -d file.txt.bz2
The -d flag tells bzip2 to decompress the file.
Xz
Xz is a compression tool that is commonly used to compress files and directories. It provides better compression ratios than both gzip and bzip2, but it is also slower. The syntax for compressing a file or directory with xz is as follows:
$ xz file.txt
This command compresses file.txt and creates a compressed file called file.txt.xz. To decompress a file, use the following command:
$ xz -d file.txt.xz
The -d flag tells xz to decompress the file.
Zip
Zip is a compression tool that is commonly used to compress multiple files and directories. It creates a compressed file that has the .zip extension. The syntax for compressing files and directories with zip is as follows:
$ zip archive.zip file1 file2 directory1
This command creates a compressed file called archive.zip that includes file1, file2, and directory1. To extract the contents of a zip file, use the following command:
$ unzip archive.zip
This command extracts the contents of archive.zip into the current directory.
In conclusion, Linux offers a variety of compression tools that can be used to reduce the size of files and directories. Tar is a versatile command-line tool that can be used to create archives and compress files, while gzip, bzip2, xz, zip, and unzip are commonly used for compressing files and directories. These tools can help save disk space, improve system performance, and make file transfers easier.
To learn more about how to use these compression tools, you can refer to the documentation for your specific Linux distribution.
Debian
https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch05.en.html.
openSUSE
https://doc.opensuse.org/documentation/leap/
Fedora
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