best compression

drigz · 06-05-2004, 05:09 AM

whats the most compressing way to compress something? im not talking just linux here, i mean any compression way. would it be just to run it through every compression thing you can get your hands on, making something like:
file.tar.bz2.gz.cab.zip.rar.ace
i guess not. also, i kno that it depends on the file, i mean in general, like if you wanted to back up every file on your harddrive into a really tiny little ball, how would you do it?

LavaDevil94 · 06-05-2004, 07:03 AM

.gz is a little old, but still used since it doesnt require as many CPU cycles as bz2. .rar has some nice compression ratios (lost 30MB on one file), but its commonly used by pirates, so it might make you look bad

. I think bz2 is the way to go, since it compresses well, and its a universal format, at least in Linux.

drigz · 06-05-2004, 07:38 AM

i dont care about looking bad. all i care about for this question is what will make it the smallest thing. preferably a definitive answer, not one just base on a little experience.