Gzip (short for GNU zip) is a file compression and decompression tool and format that is commonly used in Unix and Linux operating systems. It is named after the GNU Project, which developed and popularized the tool.

Here are the key features and uses of Gzip:

1. Compression: Gzip is primarily used to compress files and reduce their size. It does this by replacing repeated sequences of data with shorter representations, resulting in a smaller file size. This is especially useful for reducing the size of text files, log files, and various other types of data files.

2. File Extension: Compressed files using Gzip typically have the ".gz" file extension added to their original file name. For example, a file named "example.txt" would become "example.txt.gz" after compression.

3. Command-Line Tool: Gzip is also a command-line utility in Unix and Linux systems. You can use the "gzip" command to compress files and the "gunzip" or "gzcat" commands to decompress them. For example:

   • To compress a file: gzip filename
   • To decompress a file: gunzip filename.gz or gzcat filename.gz

4. Stream Compression: Gzip can be used to compress data on-the-fly as it is being transferred over a network or through a pipeline of commands. This is often used for web server compression to reduce the size of web content before sending it to a web browser. This feature is known as "gzip compression."

5. Tarballs: Gzip is frequently used in combination with the "tar" command to create compressed archive files, known as "tarballs." This allows multiple files and directories to be compressed together into a single archive. The resulting file typically has a ".tar.gz" or ".tgz" file extension.

6. Cross-Platform: While Gzip is commonly associated with Unix and Linux systems, there are versions of Gzip available for other operating systems, including Windows, making it possible to use Gzip on a wide range of platforms.

Gzip is efficient at reducing file sizes while preserving data integrity, and it is widely supported in various software applications and web servers. It is a standard tool for compression and decompression in Unix-like systems and is frequently used to save disk space and reduce data transfer times.

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