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bzip2: File Compression and Decompression

bzip2 is a lossless compression program that uses the Burrows-Wheeler transform and run-length encoding to compress files. It generally offers higher compression ratios than gzip, but at the cost of slower compression and decompression speeds. It is primarily used for compressing single files and is often used in conjunction with `tar` for archiving multiple files.

Overview

bzip2 is a powerful compression utility used to reduce file sizes. Compressed files typically have the `.bz2` extension. Decompression can be performed using the `bzip2 -d` command or the `bunzip2` command.

Key Features

  • Provides high compression ratios (generally better than gzip)
  • Lossless compression method
  • Optimized for single file compression
  • Compressed files use the `.bz2` extension

Common Options

Here are the most commonly used options with the bzip2 command.

Basic Operations

Output and Performance

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Description:

`bzip2` Executes the command.

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Usage Examples

Various examples of compressing and decompressing files using the bzip2 command.

Compress a File

bzip2 myfile.txt

Compresses the specified file and deletes the original.

Decompress a File

bzip2 -d myfile.txt.bz2

Decompresses a file with the `.bz2` extension and deletes the original compressed file.

Compress While Keeping Original

bzip2 -k myfile.txt

Keeps the original file after compression.

Compress with Maximum Level

bzip2 -9 myfile.txt

Compresses a file using the highest compression ratio (slowest).

View Compressed File Content

bzcat myfile.txt.bz2

Displays the content of a compressed file to standard output without decompressing it.

Archive a Directory with tar

tar -cvjf archive.tar.bz2 mydirectory/

Uses the tar command to archive a directory and then compresses it with bzip2.

Tips & Notes

Useful tips and points to consider when using bzip2.

bzip2 vs gzip

  • Compression Ratio: bzip2 generally provides a higher compression ratio than gzip.
  • Speed: bzip2 is slower for both compression and decompression compared to gzip. Consider gzip if speed is critical.

File Archiving

bzip2 is used for compressing single files. To archive multiple files or directories, it's common practice to use it in conjunction with the `tar` command.

  • Example: `tar -cvjf archive.tar.bz2 directory_name/`

Utilizing Standard Input/Output

bzip2 can accept standard input for compression or send decompressed data to standard output via pipes (`|`). This is useful for streaming data processing or when combining with other commands.

Same category commands

gunzip

gunzip Command Guide: Decompressing gzip Files

gzip

gzip Command Guide: File Compression and Decompression

rsync

Mastering the rsync Command

tar

tar Command Guide: File Compression, Decompression, and Archive Management

unzip

Guide to the unzip Command: Extracting ZIP Archive Files