cli-tarHow do I choose between gzip and tar for compressing a file?

When deciding between gzip and tar for compressing a file, there are a few things to consider.

1. File Type

Gzip is best used for compressing single files, while tar is better for archiving multiple files.

2. Compression Ratio

Gzip generally has a higher compression ratio than tar.

3. Speed

Gzip is usually faster than tar since it compresses only one file at a time.

4. Example Code

To compress a single file with gzip:

gzip filename

To compress multiple files into an archive with tar:

tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /path/to/files/*

5. Output

The output of the above commands will be a single compressed file named filename.gz and an archive named archive.tar.gz, respectively.

6. Links