Archive, compress, unpack, and uncompress files using tar, star, gzip, and bzip2

Context: RHCSA

Archive, compress, unpack, and uncompress files using tar, star, gzip, and bzip2

In the context of the RHCSA (Red Hat Certified System Administrator) certification, knowing how to archive, compress, unpack, and uncompress files using various tools like tar, star, gzip, and bzip2 is important for managing and manipulating files. Here's an overview of how you can perform these operations:

1. Archiving with tar:

   • Archive Files: Use the tar command to create an archive file from a list of files or directories:

     tar -cf archive.tar file1 file2 directory

     This command creates an archive named archive.tar containing file1, file2, and the directory.

   • View Archive Contents: Use the -tf option to list the contents of an archive without extracting them:

     tar -tf archive.tar

2. Compressing with gzip:

   • Compress Files: Use the gzip command to compress a file, replacing it with a compressed version:

     gzip file.txt

     This command compresses file.txt and creates file.txt.gz.

   • Decompress Files: Use the gunzip command to decompress a compressed file:

     gunzip file.txt.gz

     This command decompresses file.txt.gz and restores it as file.txt.

3. Compressing with bzip2:

   • Compress Files: Use the bzip2 command to compress a file, replacing it with a compressed version:

     bzip2 file.txt

     This command compresses file.txt and creates file.txt.bz2.

   • Decompress Files: Use the bunzip2 command to decompress a compressed file:

     bunzip2 file.txt.bz2

     This command decompresses file.txt.bz2 and restores it as file.txt.

4. Archive and Compress with tar and gzip/bzip2:

   • Create Compressed Archive: Use tar in conjunction with gzip or bzip2 to create a compressed archive file:

     tar -czf archive.tar.gz file1 file2 directory

     This command creates a compressed archive named archive.tar.gz containing the specified files and directories.

   • Extract Compressed Archive: Use the corresponding decompression command (gunzip or bunzip2) in conjunction with tar to extract a compressed archive:

     tar -xzf archive.tar.gz

     This command extracts the contents of archive.tar.gz.

   • Note: The file extensions .gz and .bz2 are automatically recognized by their respective tools.

The above commands provide a basic understanding of archiving, compressing, unpacking, and uncompressing files using tar, star, gzip, and bzip2. It's important to practice and experiment with these commands to become comfortable with their usage and to handle different file operations efficiently.