Introduction
Working with compressed recordsdata is a standard incidence in programming, and of the varied forms of compressed recordsdata, .gz recordsdata are fairly widespread within the Unix and Linux world.
On this Byte, we’ll discover a number of methods to unzip a .gz file utilizing Python. We’ll get into Python’s gzip module, learn the contents of a .gz file, and extra.
What are .gz recordsdata?
.gz is the file extension for Gzip recordsdata (GNU zip), which is a file compression and decompression device created by the GNU challenge. It is typically utilized in Unix and Linux methods for compressing issues like log recordsdata, knowledge backups, and so forth.
In Python, we will use the built-in gzip module to learn and write .gz recordsdata. This module gives a simple and easy-to-use interface for dealing with .gz recordsdata.
Studying Contents of a .gz File
To learn the contents of a .gz file in Python, we will use the gzip.open() operate. This opens the .gz file in binary or textual content mode, identical to the built-in Python open() operate. Here is a easy instance:
import gzip
with gzip.open('file.txt.gz', 'rt') as f:
file_content = f.learn()
print(file_content)
Within the above code, file.txt.gz is the .gz file we need to learn, and 'rt' is the mode wherein we need to open the file. The ‘r’ stands for learn mode and ‘t’ stands for textual content mode. The output would be the content material of the .gz file.
Utilizing Python’s gzip Module
The gzip module in Python gives the GzipFile class which is definitely modeled after Python’s File object. This class has strategies and properties much like those out there within the File object, which makes it simpler to work with .gz recordsdata.
Here is an instance of how one can use the gzip module to learn a .gz file:
import gzip
with gzip.GzipFile('file.txt.gz', 'r') as f:
file_content = f.learn()
print(file_content)
Within the above code, we’re utilizing the GzipFile class to open the .gz file. The ‘r’ mode signifies that we need to open the file for studying. The output would be the content material of the .gz file.
Notice: Whereas each gzip.open() and gzip.GzipFile() can be utilized to learn .gz recordsdata, gzip.open() is extra handy if you need to learn the file as textual content, whereas gzip.GzipFile() is healthier for studying binary recordsdata.
Utilizing the sh Module for Unzipping
The sh module is a full-fledged subprocess interface for Python that means that you can name any program as if it have been a operate. To unzip a .gz file, we will use the gunzip command via the sh module. Let’s examine how one can do it.
First, you’ll want to set up the sh module if you have not achieved it but. You’ll be able to set up it utilizing pip:
$ pip set up sh
As soon as put in, you should use it to unzip a .gz file:
from sh import gunzip
gunzip("/path/to/yourfile.gz")
This script will unzip the yourfile.gz file in the identical listing. If you wish to specify a special output listing, you are able to do so by passing it as a second argument to the gunzip operate:
from sh import gunzip
gunzip("/path/to/yourfile.gz", "-c > /path/to/output/yourfile")
Utilizing the tarfile Module
The tarfile module makes it doable to learn and write tar archives, together with these utilizing gzip compression. Right here is an instance:
import tarfile
with tarfile.open("/path/to/yourfile.tar.gz", "r:gz") as tar:
tar.extractall(path="/path/to/output")
Notice: The tarfile module is simply relevant for .tar.gz recordsdata. In case you’re coping with a easy .gz file, you need to use the gzip module or the sh module with the gunzip command.
Conclusion
On this Byte, now we have seen how one can unzip .gz recordsdata in Python utilizing the sh module, the gzip module, and the tarfile module. Every methodology has its personal benefits and use instances, so select the one which most accurately fits your wants.
