Use compression algorithms to reduce the size of your digital files and folders. The main goals of compression are to save storage space, speed up file transfers, and simplify file organization by bundling multiple files or folders into one archive.

In practice, compression allows you to:

Store more data on the same disk.
Transfer files faster over networks.
Organize multiple files, and/or folders into a single, portable package.
Preserve file attributes like permissions and ownership (when using archive tools like TAR)

Parameters / Features

Format	Purpose	Compression	Common OS	Notes
TAR	Bundles multiple files	None	Linux/Unix	No size reduction; often used before compression
Gzip (.gz)	Compresses single files	Yes (Gzip)	Linux/Unix	Uses DEFLATE algorithm
TAR.GZ / TGZ	Bundles + compresses	Yes (Gzip)	Linux/Unix	Common for backups
ZIP	Bundles + compresses	Yes	Windows, Linux, Mac	Widely supported
BZ2 (.bz2)	Compresses single files	Yes (Bzip2)	Linux/Unix	Better compression than Gzip but slower

Examples

TAR:

tar -cvf archive.tar my_folder

Creates an archive with no compression.

Gzip:

gzip file.txt

Compresses file.txt into file.txt.gz.

TAR.GZ:

tar -czvf archive.tar.gz my_folder

Bundles and compresses a folder into one file.

ZIP:

zip -r archive.zip my_folder

Creates a compressed zip archive.

Bzip2:

bzip2 file.txt

Compresses a file with better ratios than Gzip.

Common Use Cases

Backups: Archiving folders into .tar.gz or .tgz files.
Cross-platform sharing: Using .zip for compatibility across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Disk space savings: Compressing large log files with Gzip or Bzip2.
Data transfer efficiency: Sending compressed files over the internet to reduce upload/download times.