When we talk about the ZIP format, we all know what we are talking about instantly. The format first appeared in 1989 and we all know it in part because it is the default compression system in Windows, and many of us began to take our first steps in computing with a Microsoft system. Later appeared more compression formats, and in this article we will talk about the most popular, among which we will have the RAR or the 7z.
When we want to compress files, and this article is about that type of compression and not others such as those that compress video or audio, it is also likely that we need to file them. Therefore, at least one of the compression formats included in this article will simply do that, that is, we have included one that does not compress, but you will understand why later.
Most popular compression formats
ZIP, fast and light
As we have already mentioned, ZIP is a very famous compression format, partly because it is "The one of all the life" in Microsoft systems. Being one of the first, it has been overtaken over time by other formats such as 7z or RAR, but it still has its strengths:
- Compression in ZIP is very fast and does not require many resources, at least if we compare it with compression in 7z or RAR. It is based on Deflate Lossless compression, which makes it ideal for archiving large amounts of combined data, such as a backup.
- ZIP is everywhere. The ZIP format is available on virtually any operating system, such as Linux or even much more closed systems such as Apple's iOS.
- The latest versions introduced AES encryption.
The reasons for choosing ZIP as the compression format are the speed and it works perfectly on any operating system. Other formats, although available, can present problems in some operating system, and this is something that has happened to me when compressing files in 7z in various places since Ark.
ZIPX, the evolution of ZIP
If we have talked about the ZIP, we have to talk about an evolution of the same. It is the ZIPX and among its possibilities we have that it compresses more than the ZIP, something comparable to the RAR format. The problem is that when using ZIPX we lose the strengths of ZIP: the computer consumes more resources and compression / decompression is slower.
I would recommend using ZIPX only when you don't want to use RAR, that is, for an economic and licensing issue.
TAR to file ...
As we explained earlier, we were going to mention a compression format that did not compress. This is TAR and we mention it because it is used a lot in Linux. Sonly provides archiving (concatenate input data and metadata into a single output file), delegating functions like compression, encryption, parity / integrity check to external software that works in the pipeline with TAR command output.
… And GZ to compress
Many of the files we download for Linux are in the tar.gz format. The GZ extension designates a single file compression format, created for the GZip project (GNU Zip or "free Zip"), started in 1992 by Jean-Loup Gailly and Mark Adler in order to provide a free replacement for compression solutions. of proprietary / commercial data. Compression is based on the DEFLATE algorithm (also used as the default algorithm in the PKZip / WinZip .ZIP format), a combination of Lempel-Ziv (LZ77) encoding and Huffman encoding.
It can be used as a substitute for ZIP and, as in the case of ZIPX, for a licensing issue, this being totally free.
7z, open source and powerful
The 7z is a modern compression format and open source. It offers AES encryption and a high level of compression, one of the best, most cases higher than RAR or ZIPX. It was introduced in Windows as 7-Zip and ported by the p7zip team to Unix platforms. Supported compression algorithms (LZMA / LZMA2, PPMd, BZip2) can benefit from parallel computing on modern multi-core CPUs.
The main reason for using the 7z is its high compression level, but it is not worth it if we are going to compress large files while we work because we are going to waste a lot of time / resources of our equipment. On the other hand, as I mentioned, compression failed me using Ark, so I personally have that thorn in the side and I can't quite trust him. In other words, the 7z can present more problems than other formats such as ZIP.
RAR, the best if you don't care about licenses
The RAR format is one of the most famous, such as ZIP, in part because it is also widely used on Microsoft systems. It is a proprietary format introduced by WinRAR in Windows and its extracting part was ported to Linux (Unrar). Among its functions we have:
- Compresses more than ZIP.
- Offers strong encryption.
- Possibility of recovery in case of errors.
Like the 7z and ZIPX, one of its strengths is the level of compression, but with the price to pay of time and resource consumption. I would and have always used the RAR format in Windows, both for compressing and for splitting and password-protecting files. Of course, you have to pay for it or do what you know.
ACE, an old glory
Like RAR, ACE is a proprietary format introduced in Windows by WinACE, but in this case it was the same company that ported it to Linux, more specifically its extraction capacity (UNACE). It has lost popularity in recent years, but it offers better compression levels than ZIP without reaching RAR, ZIPX or 7z.
As there is no free or free version for creating ACE files, I would not recommend its use unless we have access to a license that does not cost us much. If you have to choose, the RAR is better.
Of these compression formats, which is the best?
As we have been explaining, it will depend on many factors, among which we have the compatibility, the compression level and the licenses. For Linux, I would recommend the 7z format, but not before doing tests to verify that we did not find any type of bug like the one I found in Kubuntu using Ark.
In Windows or macOS, it will depend on what we want to «find life» and a licensing issue. The 7z format can also be a good option, both for its compression and security levels and for being open source.
As for decompressing, we can decompress ZIP formats "out of the box" in many operating systems, while others such as RAR or ACE can decompress them for free with UNRAR or UNACE.
Do you think any more options should be added to this list of compression formats?
Good tips and comments on file compressors, thanks, hug from Argentina, Patowalk