Although both the tar and zip commands are used to archive and compress files, there are some distinctions between their functions and the formats they support. Below is a description of each:

tar Command

Key Points:

1. Creating an Archive:
   • tar -cvf archive.tar directory/
     • -c creates a new archive.
     • -v (optional) shows the progress (verbose).
     • -f specifies the filename of the archive.
     • directory/ is the directory you want to archive.
2. Extracting an Archive:
   • tar -xvf archive.tar
     • -x extracts the archive.
     • -v (optional) shows the progress (verbose).
     • -f specifies the filename of the archive.
3. Compressing and Archiving:
   • tar -cvzf archive.tar.gz directory/
     • -z compresses the archive using gzip.
     • The resulting file is archive.tar.gz.
4. Extracting a Compressed Archive:
   • tar -xvzf archive.tar.gz

zip Command

Files can be compressed using zip into a ZIP archive, which is a compression and archive format. It is extensively utilized on Windows and Unix-like systems.

Key Points:

1. Creating an Archive:
   • zip -r archive.zip directory/
     • -r recursively includes files and directories.
     • archive.zip is the name of the zip file to be created.
     • directory/ is the directory you want to archive.
2. Extracting an Archive:
   • unzip archive.zip

What is the Differences Between tar and zip?

Format:

• By default, tar produces an uncompressed archive (such as.tar), but it may also be used in conjunction with compression programs like gzip or bzip2 to produce compressed archives (such as.tar.gz or.tar.bz2).
• Zip directly builds compressed archives (.zip, for example).

Usage:

• In Unix-like systems, tar is frequently used for backups and software packaging.
• When building archives that need to work with Windows computers, zip is more frequently employed.

Compression:

• When tar is used in conjunction with gzip or bzip2, compression ratios are frequently higher than with zip alone.
• For some use situations, such as enabling random access to individual files within the archive, zip compresses each file inside the archive separately.

Extraction:

• When tar is used in conjunction with gzip or bzip2, compression ratios are frequently higher than with zip alone.
• For some use situations, such as enabling random access to individual files within the archive, zip compresses each file inside the archive separately.

Why tar and zip is used?

tar:

When you need to combine several files and directories into a single archive file, use tar, particularly in settings similar to Unix. You may also wish to compress the archive to save space.

zip:

When you want a compressed archive that is generally compatible and can be opened on a variety of operating systems, including Windows, use zip.