gzip (GNU zip) is a popular data compression program
written by
Jean-Loup Gailly <gzip@gnu.org>
for the GNU project.
Mark Adler <madler@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote the decompression part.
We developed this program as a replacement for compress
because of the UNISYS and IBM patents
covering the LZW algorithm used by compress. These
patents made it impossible for us to use compress, and we
needed a replacement. The superior compression ratio of GZIP is just
a bonus.
For versions of GZIP for MSDOS, Windows or the Macintosh, see Gailly's gzip page.
The format of the .gz files generated by gzip is described in RFCs (Request For Comments) 1951 and 1952.
Online Manual is available at www.gnu.org/software/gzip/manual/
Gzip can be found on in the subdirectory /gnu/gzip/ on your favorite
GNU mirror. For other ways to
obtain Gzip, please read
How to get GNU Software
Please send FSF & GNU inquiries & questions to gnu@gnu.org. There are also other ways to contact the FSF.
Please send comments on these web pages to webmasters@www.gnu.org, send other questions to gnu@gnu.org.
Copyright (C) 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
Updated: 6 May 2000 neel