gzip compression

✔️ Tag: GZIP compression

What is GZIP compression?

GZIP is a data compression method that is used to reduce the size of files transferred over the Internet. It was developed in 1992 and has since become one of the most widely used data compression methods worldwide. GZIP compression works by removing redundant data from files, reducing their size and speeding up data transfer.

Gzip compression or Gzip is an abbreviation for several file compression programs, usually referring to the implementation of the GNU Project, where gzip stands for GNU zip. Also often used to refer to the gzip file format. The authors of the software are Jean-Loup Gailly and Mark Adler. It was first publicly released on October 31, 1992, version 0.1, followed by version 1.0 in February 1993.
The version of gzip included with OpenBSD is actually a compression program, and its support for gzip files was added in OpenBSD 3.4, where g stands for free.

GZIP concept

GZIP over HTTP encoding is a technique used to improve the performance of web applications. High traffic websites often use GZIP compression technology to make users feel faster. This usually refers to a feature installed on the WWW server. When someone visits a website on that server, this function on the server compresses the content of the web page and passes it to the visiting computer's browser for display.

Typically, for plain text content, this can be compressed to 40% of its original size. This way the transfer is faster and the effect is that it will be rendered quickly after you click on the URL. Of course, this will also increase the load on the server. This functional module is installed on the server.

General gzip command options

⟹ c, –stdout prints the decompressed content to standard output, leaving the original file unchanged;
⟹ d, –decompress decompress;
⟹ f, –force force overwrite old files;
⟹ l, --list displays information about the source files stored in the compressed package (eg, unpacked name, compression ratio, etc.);
⟹ n, --no-name does not preserve the filename and timestamp of the source file when compressed, nor does it restore the filename and timestamp of the source file when decompressing (at this time, the filename of the decompressed file is the filename of the compressed package);
⟹ N, –name preserve the filename and timestamp of the original file when compressed, restore the filename and timestamp of the original file when decompressing;
⟹ -q, –quiet disable all warning messages;
⟹ -r, – recursive recursive;
⟹ t, –test check the integrity of the archive;
⟹ v, --verbose redundant mode (that is, display the contents of the execution of each step);
⟹ -1, -2, …, -9 The compression ratio increases alternately and the speed alternately slows down, the default is -6.

How does GZIP compression work?

GZIP compression works by using data compression algorithms that remove repeated sequences of bytes. This reduces the data size to 70-90% and speeds up data transfer over the Internet. At the same time, the files retain their structure and format. And also can be easily unpacked if needed.

How to use GZIP compression on your site?

To use GZIP compression on your site, you need to add the appropriate code to the .htaccess file, which is located in the root directory of your site. This code allows the server to automatically compress all transferred files. For example, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and images. This reduces site load time and improves overall performance.

How to check if GZIP compression is used on a website?

To check if your site is using GZIP compression, you can use online tools. For example, such as GIDZipTest or Check GZIP compression. These tools allow you to check if GZIP compression is used to transfer data from your site.

What are the benefits of GZIP compression for a website?

Using GZIP compression on your site allows you to reduce the size of the transmitted data. This speeds up page loading and enhances the user experience. It also reduces server bandwidth usage and reduces storage costs. In addition, the use of GZIP compression is one of the factors affecting the ranking of a site in search engines.

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