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How to compress a file in Python

How to compress a file in Python.

Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to compress a file in Python using various methods:

Table of Contents​

  1. Introduction
  2. Using the zlib Module
  3. Using the gzip Module
  4. Using the zipfile Module

Introduction​

File compression is the process of reducing the size of a file by encoding its data in a more efficient way. Python provides several modules that allow us to compress files, such as zlib, gzip, and zipfile. In this tutorial, we will explore each of these methods.

Using the zlib Module​

The zlib module in Python provides functions for compression and decompression using the zlib library. Here's how you can compress a file using this module:

  1. Import the zlib module:
import zlib
  1. Read the content of the file to be compressed:
with open('file.txt', 'rb') as file:
    content = file.read()
  1. Compress the content using the compress function:
compressed_content = zlib.compress(content)
  1. Write the compressed content to a new file:
with open('compressed_file.txt', 'wb') as file:
    file.write(compressed_content)

And that's it! You have successfully compressed a file using the zlib module.

Using the gzip Module​

The gzip module in Python provides functions for working with gzip compressed files. Here's how you can compress a file using this module:

  1. Import the gzip module:
import gzip
  1. Open the file to be compressed and the output file:
with open('file.txt', 'rb') as file:
    with gzip.open('compressed_file.txt.gz', 'wb') as compressed_file:
  1. Copy the content from the input file to the output file:
        compressed_file.writelines(file)
  1. Close both files:
    compressed_file.close()
file.close()

And that's it! You have successfully compressed a file using the gzip module.

Using the zipfile Module​

The zipfile module in Python provides functions for working with ZIP archives. Here's how you can compress a file using this module:

  1. Import the zipfile module:
import zipfile
  1. Create a new ZIP archive:
with zipfile.ZipFile('compressed_file.zip', 'w') as zip_file:
  1. Add the file to the archive:
    zip_file.write('file.txt', compress_type=zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED)
  1. Close the archive:
zip_file.close()

And that's it! You have successfully compressed a file using the zipfile module.

Conclusion​

In this tutorial, we explored different methods to compress files in Python. We learned how to use the zlib, gzip, and zipfile modules to compress files. Now you can choose the method that best suits your needs and efficiently compress files in your Python applications.