TAR.Z File Converter
Online TAR.Z File Converter - Instant Download!
Drag your file here to to upload.
Up to 250MB
How to Use TAR.Z Converter
Step 1 – Upload TAR.Z file
Drag your .TAR.Z file or use the browse button.
Step 2 – Choose Format
Select the desired output format from the dropdown list.
Step 3 – Download File
Click "Convert" and download your converted file once ready.
About TAR.Z (.TAR.Z)
TAR.Z is a compressed archive file format that combines TAR packaging with Unix compress (.Z) compression. It is used to group multiple files into a single archive and then compress that archive to reduce file size, commonly found in Unix and Linux environments. An interesting fact is that the TAR format dates back to the early 1970s and was originally designed to write data to tape drives efficiently.
Technical Details
A TAR.Z file is created by first archiving files into a TAR (.tar) file and then compressing that archive using the 'compress' utility, which produces a .Z file. This compression uses the LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) algorithm, which was patented until 2003, influencing the adoption of other formats. Extraction requires decompressing the .Z file followed by untarring the resulting archive.
Additional Information & Use Cases
The TAR.Z format first gained popularity before more advanced compression algorithms like gzip became widespread. It is less efficient than modern compression methods but remains supported by many legacy systems. Users often encounter TAR.Z files when dealing with older software distributions or archives from historical Unix systems.
