Ever poked around online and stumbled upon a peculiar file extension—tar.gz? To those not in the know, it may feel like a secret phrase Linux users use to mess with you. In reality, it’s a powerful duo responsible for a large chunk of compression and archiving you’re likely to come across. Today, we’re going to be lifting the curtain on the magic behind tar and gzip, discovering what makes them the go-to tools for sharing files and folders in the Linux realm.
The Origins and Uniqueness of Tar and GZIP
When it comes to compression and archiving, tar and gzip aren’t just tools; they’re legends with a long history.
Tar – Tape Archive:
The story begins with tar, short for “tape archive.” Developed in the early days of computing, tar was designed to streamline the process of consolidating files and directories into a single package for storage on tape drives (surprisingly still used today for archival). Sometimes affectionately known as a “tarball” when files are bundled together, this format became synonymous with creating comprehensive archives.
So, why tar files instead of raw directories? Picture tar as a digital suitcase—it gathers all your files, regardless of their original locations, and neatly packs them into a single, transportable package. It simplifies the task of moving or sharing a collection of files, making it a go-to solution for bundling diverse elements into one cohesive unit.
GZIP – Compression:
Gzip, short for GNU Zip, takes the lead in the Linux compression arena. Originally crafted as an open-source alternative to the patented zip format on MS-DOS, gzip specializes in efficiently compressing individual files using the deflate compression algorithm.
Following the Unix philosophy, which advocates for tools that do only one thing and do it exceptionally well, gzip focuses solely on file compression. However, it has a limitation—it can’t compress entire directories independently. Some of you may have already put this together but here’s where tar steps in. While gzip handles files like it’s no problem, tar excels at managing directories. Together, they form a powerful pair, giving rise to the elusive .tar.gz file extension. In this collaboration, tar compiles the directory, and gzip wraps it up with its compression magic.
Tar and Gzip Usage
Using Tar:
The basic syntax for using tar is quite straightforward. To create an archive:
tar -cvf archive.tar file1 file2 directory1-c: Create a new archive.-v: Verbose mode, show the progress of the archive creation.-f: Specifies the name of the archive file.
To extract from an archive:
tar -xvf archive.tar-x: Extract files from an archive.
And to compress while creating the archive (with gzip):
tar -cvzf archive.tar.gz file1 file2 directory1-z: Filter the archive through gzip.
To extract from a compressed archive:
tar -xvzf archive.tar.gzUsing Gzip:
Gzip is primarily used for compressing single files. Here’s how you compress a file:
gzip filenameThis will create a compressed file with a .gz extension.
To decompress:
gzip -d filename.gzor if you want to do it the much cooler (and concise) way:
gunzip filename.gzCombo: Tar + Gzip:
As mentioned, since gzip can’t compress directories on its own, it’s often combined with tar. To create a compressed archive you can use the tar command listed above with the -z switch. If you for some reason wanted to use both the tar and gzip commands then the following would also work:
tar -cf - directory | gzip -9 > archive.tar.gzThis will pipe the output of tar into gzip and write the compressed tar file to archive.tar.gz
Remember, these commands come with various options, so feel free to explore more functionalities in the respective man pages (man tar and man gzip). Happy archiving!