Most software, when not in a package such as .deb, comes in .tar.gz or .tar.xz. Is it necessary to use tar before using xz or gz? What are the advantages of doing that?
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circl
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Do you know what `tar`, `gz` and `xz` is? – tkausl Apr 29 '20 at 12:09
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Yes. `tar` is an archive with no compression (Tape ARchive), and `gz` and `xz` are archives with compression. – circl Apr 29 '20 at 12:10
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`gz` and `xz` are not archives, they are _just_ compression. Combine tar and gz and you get an compressed archive. – tkausl Apr 29 '20 at 12:14
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They can only store one file? When compressing something like a log file you don't need to use tar. – circl Apr 29 '20 at 12:16
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They don't _store_ anything, they just compress a stream of bytes. – tkausl Apr 29 '20 at 12:22
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That means they automatically use tar when you provide a file in the command. – circl Apr 29 '20 at 12:25
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If you want to combine several files - use tar and then, optionally, compress your tar archive with gzip or another tool. If you have 1 file only - using tar is meaningless, just compress the file with gzip
Andrey Khoronko
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