From Wsms

gzip

gzip is a Linux command that makes zip archives which are compatible with common decompression utilities on other operating systems.

common usage

Compress and archive an directory:

ggeller@mckinley:~/Desktop/to_dvd/burn/vmware/appliances$ gzip -rc fc7 > fc7.zip

tips

A lot of linux documentation comes as .gz files. You don't have to unzip it to an intermediate file to view it. Just use a pipe:

ggeller@roosevelt:~$ gzip -cd /usr/share/doc/httptunnel/FAQ.gz | more

see also

man gzip
tar