14.4) Checking How Much Compression

If you want to see how much it has compressed in size then before you compress it, type:

ls –l file1

Then compress it,

gzip file1

Then view the new size by typing:

ls –l file1.gz

This file was made by emacs but you can use many editors like edit or vi or others. All these editors make files in the standard ASCII format and can be compressed. Keep in mind that compression of small files sometimes leads to them being larger. Compression is most useful for files that are sizable.