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bzip2

Introduction​

This cheat sheet provides a quick reference for some common Bzip2 commands and concepts. Bzip2 is a compression utility used to compress and decompress files. It's known for its high compression ratio and efficiency.

Installation​

Bzip2 is usually pre-installed on most Unix-like systems. To check if it's installed, you can run:

bzip2 --version

If it's not installed, you can install it using your system's package manager (e.g., apt, yum, or brew).

Bzip2 Concepts​

Compression​

Bzip2 is primarily used for compressing files and reducing their size.

  • Compress a file:

    bzip2 file.txt

  • Compress a file and specify the compression level (1-9):

    bzip2 -9 file.txt

Decompression​

To decompress Bzip2-compressed files:

  • Decompress a file:

    bzip2 -d compressed_file.bz2

  • Decompress a file and keep the original compressed file:

    bzip2 -dk compressed_file.bz2

Compression with Tar​

Bzip2 is often used in combination with tar to create compressed archive files.

  • Create a Bzip2-compressed Tar archive:
    tar cvjf archive.tar.bz2 directory/

Viewing Compression Information​

To view information about a Bzip2-compressed file:

  • View compression details:
    bzcat compressed_file.bz2 | file -

Compression Ratio​

You can calculate the compression ratio of a Bzip2-compressed file.

  • Determine the compression ratio of a file:
    original_size=$(wc -c < original_file)
    compressed_size=$(wc -c < compressed_file.bz2)
    compression_ratio=$(bc -l <<< "scale=2; ($original_size - $compressed_size) / $original_size * 100")
    echo "Compression ratio: $compression_ratio%"

Conclusion​

This cheat sheet covers some common Bzip2 commands and concepts. Bzip2 is a powerful compression utility used to reduce file sizes efficiently; refer to the official Bzip2 documentation for more in-depth information and advanced usage.