gzip and gunzip in Linux CLI - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to compress the file named data.txt using gzip.

Linux CLI

gzip [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adata.txt

B-d

Cgunzip

D-c

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'gunzip' instead of the file name.

Using '-d' which is for decompressing.

Using '-c' without redirecting output.

The command gzip data.txt compresses the file data.txt and creates data.txt.gz.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to decompress the file archive.gz using gunzip.

Linux CLI

gunzip [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-c archive.gz

Barchive.gz

C-d archive.gz

Darchive

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-c archive.gz' without redirecting output.

Using '-d' with gunzip (gunzip decompresses by default).

Using the uncompressed file name instead of the compressed one.

The command gunzip archive.gz decompresses the file archive.gz and restores archive.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to decompress file.gz and output to stdout.

Linux CLI

gunzip [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Afile

Bfile.gz

C-d file.gz

D-c file.gz

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using the file name alone outputs to a file, not stdout.

Using '-d' is redundant with gunzip.

Using the uncompressed file name instead of the compressed one.

The option -c tells gunzip to decompress to standard output without removing the original file.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a gzip compressed file backup.gz from backup.txt and keep the original file.

Linux CLI

gzip [1] [2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-k

Bbackup.txt

C-d

D-c

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-d' which decompresses instead of compressing.

Using '-c' without redirecting output.

Not specifying the file name.

The -k option keeps the original file after compression. So gzip backup.txt -k compresses and keeps backup.txt.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to decompress log.gz to log.txt without deleting the compressed file.

Linux CLI

gunzip [1] [2] > [3]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A-c

Blog.gz

Clog.txt

D-k

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '-k' with gunzip (not supported).

Not redirecting output, which deletes the original file.

Using the uncompressed file name as input.

Using gunzip -c log.gz > log.txt decompresses log.gz to log.txt and keeps the original compressed file.

Practice

1. What does the gzip command do in Linux?

easy

A. Lists files in a directory

B. Deletes a file permanently

C. Compresses a file and replaces the original with a .gz file

D. Creates a backup copy of a file

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand gzip purpose

   The gzip command compresses files to save disk space.

2. Step 2: Effect on original file

   It replaces the original file with a compressed file ending in .gz.

3. Final Answer:

   Compresses a file and replaces the original with a .gz file -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   gzip compresses files = D [OK]

Hint: gzip compresses and replaces original file by default [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking gzip deletes files without compression
• Confusing gzip with backup commands
• Assuming gzip lists files

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to compress a file named data.txt but keep the original file?

easy

A. gzip data.txt

B. gzip -d data.txt

C. gunzip -k data.txt

D. gzip -k data.txt

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify option to keep original

   The -k option tells gzip to keep the original file after compression.

2. Step 2: Match correct command

   gzip -k data.txt compresses and keeps the original file.

3. Final Answer:

   gzip -k data.txt -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Use -k to keep original file [OK]

Hint: Use -k with gzip to keep original file [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using gunzip instead of gzip for compression
• Using -d which is for decompression
• Not using -k and losing original file

3. What will be the output of the following commands?

gzip -k report.txt
gunzip report.txt.gz

medium

A. Only report.txt exists after commands

B. Both report.txt and report.txt.gz exist after commands

C. Original report.txt deleted, only report.txt.gz remains

D. Error because gunzip cannot decompress .gz files

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze gzip -k report.txt

   This compresses report.txt to report.txt.gz and keeps the original report.txt file.

2. Step 2: Analyze gunzip report.txt.gz

   This decompresses report.txt.gz back to report.txt and deletes the .gz file.

3. Final Answer:

   Only report.txt exists after commands -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   gzip -k keeps original, gunzip restores and removes .gz [OK]

Hint: gunzip removes .gz file after decompression [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming gzip deletes original with -k option
• Thinking gunzip keeps .gz file after decompression
• Confusing gzip and gunzip roles

4. You run gunzip file.txt but get an error saying "not in gzip format." What is the likely problem?

medium

A. gunzip command is misspelled

B. file.txt is not a compressed .gz file

C. file.txt is already decompressed

D. You need to use gzip instead of gunzip

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand gunzip input requirement

   gunzip expects a file compressed with gzip, usually ending with .gz.

2. Step 2: Analyze error message

   "not in gzip format" means the file is not compressed or not a .gz file.

3. Final Answer:

   file.txt is not a compressed .gz file -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   gunzip needs .gz files [OK]

Hint: gunzip only works on gzip-compressed (.gz) files [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to decompress uncompressed files
• Confusing gzip and gunzip commands
• Ignoring file extensions

5. You have multiple log files: log1.txt, log2.txt, and log3.txt. You want to compress all of them but keep the original files. Which command will do this correctly?

hard

A. gzip -k log*.txt

B. gzip log*.txt

C. gunzip -k log*.txt

D. gzip -d log*.txt

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify command to compress multiple files

   gzip compresses files; log*.txt matches all log files.

2. Step 2: Ensure original files are kept

   The -k option keeps original files after compression.

3. Final Answer:

   gzip -k log*.txt -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   gzip -k compresses and keeps originals [OK]

Hint: Use gzip -k with wildcard to keep originals [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using gunzip instead of gzip for compression
• Not using -k and losing original files
• Using -d which decompresses files