Z File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
File Extension .Z
Compression Method Lempel-Ziv coding (LZC)
Typical MIME Type application/x-compress
Original Release 1980s
Commonly Used On UNIX and UNIX-like systems
Binary Format Yes
Can Store Multiple Files No
Compression Ratio Variable, depending on the data
Decompression Tool uncompress, gunzip
Associated Commands compress, zcat, uncompress
Direct Editing No
Checksum for Integrity No
Support for Encryption No
Main Usage File compression on Unix systems
Supported by Modern Operating Systems Through compatibility layers or third-party software
Advantages Simple, fast compression
Disadvantages Limited features compared to newer compression formats
Algorithmic Complexity Low
Replaced By .gz (gzip) for most purposes