Question

I’d like to know if there’s a way to make a zip file, or any other compressed file (tar,gz,etc) that will extract as quickly as possible. I’m just trying to move one folder to another computer, so I’m not concerned with the size of the file. However, I’m zipping up a large folder (~100 Mbs), and I was wondering if there’s a method to extract a zip file quicker, or if another standard can decompress files more quickly.

Thanks!

Answer 1

The short answer is that compression is always a trade off between speed and size. i.e. faster compression usually means smaller size – but unless you’re using floppy disks to transfer the data, the time you gain by using a faster compression method means more network time to haul the data about. But having said that, the speed and compression ratio for different mathods varies depending on te structure of the file(s) you are compressing.

You also have to consider availability of software – is it worth spending the time downloading and compiling a compression program? I guess if its worth the time waiting for an answer here then either you’re using an RFC1149 network or you’re going to be doing this a lot.

In which case the answer is simple: test the programs yourself using a representative dataset.