Linux From Scratch - Version 6.5

Chapter 6. Installing Basic System Software

6.43. Gzip-1.3.12

The Gzip package contains programs for compressing and decompressing files.

Approximate build time: less than 0.1 SBU
Required disk space: 3.3 MB

6.43.1. Installation of Gzip

The version of the function “futimens” used by Gzip is incompatible with the version that current Glibc provides, so we'll rename the function: 

sed -i 's/futimens/gl_&/' gzip.c lib/utimens.{c,h}

There is also a bug in the zdiff script that needs to be fixed: 

sed -i 's/5 -)/5 - >\&3)/' zdiff.in

Prepare Gzip for compilation: 

./configure --prefix=/usr --bindir=/bin

Compile the package: 

make

To test the results, issue: 

make check

Install the package: 

make install

Move some programs that do not need to be on the root filesystem: 

mv -v /bin/{gzexe,uncompress,zcmp,zdiff,zegrep} /usr/bin
mv -v /bin/{zfgrep,zforce,zgrep,zless,zmore,znew} /usr/bin

6.43.2. Contents of Gzip

Installed programs: gunzip, gzexe, gzip, uncompress, zcat, zcmp, zdiff, zegrep, zfgrep, zforce, zgrep, zless, zmore, and znew

Short Descriptions

gunzip

Decompresses gzipped files

gzexe

Creates self-decompressing executable files

gzip

Compresses the given files using Lempel-Ziv (LZ77) coding

uncompress

Decompresses compressed files

zcat

Decompresses the given gzipped files to standard output

zcmp

Runs cmp on gzipped files

zdiff

Runs diff on gzipped files

zegrep

Runs egrep on gzipped files

zfgrep

Runs fgrep on gzipped files

zforce

Forces a .gz extension on all given files that are gzipped files, so that gzip will not compress them again; this can be useful when file names were truncated during a file transfer

zgrep

Runs grep on gzipped files

zless

Runs less on gzipped files

zmore

Runs more on gzipped files

znew

Re-compresses files from compress format to gzip format—.Z to .gz