Arch Linux

synthead

Member

Registered: 2006-05-09

Posts: 1,337

xz: Temporary file used when compressing?

When I run xz on a file, it sits there and grinds away for a while, then I eventually get file.xz.  How does this process happen?  Is it writing to a temporary file in the process?  Also, is there a way to make an xz archive of a file without removing (or replacing) the original?

igndenok

Member

From: Sidoarjo, Indonesia

Registered: 2010-06-07

Posts: 160

Re: xz: Temporary file used when compressing?

Also, is there a way to make an xz archive of a file without removing (or replacing) the original?

Taken from 'man xz', I didn't try it

-k, --keep
              Don't delete the input files.

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Wey

Member

Registered: 2011-04-22

Posts: 217

Re: xz: Temporary file used when compressing?

When i use xz on a 1.2 GB test-file with redundant content, the corresponding archive file spawns instantly and then grows in size (regarding to watch wc) until the compression process is completed (about 2 min). Also, lsof|grep xz doesn't indicate, any temporarly files are involved.

So i suggest getting an earlier spawning (yet unfinished) archive might be more related to your desktop environment, its file alteration monitor (fam, gamin...) and file manager. Though, most file managers should have a manual refresh capability (e. g. ^r or f5).