difference between tar and gz?

ranger225 · 11-04-2004, 12:37 AM

hi friendz,
can anyone tell me wat is the difference between tar and gz? y is tar used for? n after creating tar file, is it a compulsion to gzip it? does tar compress a file? n in linux most of the files rather applications are with ".tar.gz" extension....i am totally confused between tar and gz ......n can i ftp a tar file? plz help me......

bye....

vxc69 · 11-04-2004, 12:59 AM

Go here for information on Tar and Gzip.

In a nutshell:
*tar.gz is like *.zip on windows. Yes you can download tar files via ftp.

Also:
*.tar.bz2 is pretty much the same as *tar.gz files.

vxc

7.e.Q · 11-04-2004, 01:17 AM

Well, the tar file is an archive that contains all the files you packed into it. It does not compress anything. It just stores the files in one "container"-file. What you do with gzip is compress this container-file. That's why it is called .tar.gz. It is a tar file (.tar) that is compressed with gzip (.gz) or bzip2 (.bz2).

It's as simple as putting a few things (the files) into a box (the tar archive) and putting the hole box into a shrinker (gzip).

ranger225 · 11-04-2004, 01:23 AM

ok...thanx...but can i directly gzip a file or a folder without cretating a tar file?

vxc69 · 11-04-2004, 01:41 AM

You can compress files using the gzip command without tarring.

IBall · 11-04-2004, 03:10 AM

Although taring multiple files together often seems to reduce the file size when gzipped.

--Ian

robert644 · 11-04-2004, 03:17 AM

i don't think you can ftp a folder, but if you tar it, you can