Compress and Decompress Files with Apache Commons IO

Ahoy there, matey! Are you looking to save space on your hard drive or transfer files more quickly across the seven seas? Look no further than Apache Commons IO! In this article, we’ll dive into the library’s features for compressing and decompressing files.

Why Use Apache Commons IO for File Compression?

Using Apache Commons IO for file compression offers a few advantages. Firstly, it’s a convenient way to save disk space on your ship. Compressing a file reduces its size, making it easier to store and transport. Secondly, compressed files can be transferred more quickly over the internet or other networks. Finally, compressing files can also help keep your data secure by making it more difficult for unauthorized access.

Compressing Files with Apache Commons IO

Let’s start by looking at how to compress files with Apache Commons IO. To do this, we’ll use the org.apache.commons.io.compress package.

import org.apache.commons.io.compress.*;

FileInputStream inputStream = new FileInputStream("file-to-compress.txt");
GzipCompressorOutputStream outputStream = new GzipCompressorOutputStream(new FileOutputStream("compressed-file.gz"));

IOUtils.copy(inputStream, outputStream);

inputStream.close();
outputStream.close();

In this example, we first create a FileInputStream to read the contents of the file we want to compress. We then create a GzipCompressorOutputStream to write the compressed data to a new file.

The IOUtils.copy() method is used to copy the contents of the input stream to the output stream. Finally, we close both the input and output streams.

Decompressing Files with Apache Commons IO

Now that we’ve compressed our file, let’s take a look at how to decompress it with Apache Commons IO.

import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils;
import org.apache.commons.io.compress.*;

FileInputStream inputStream = new FileInputStream("compressed-file.gz");
GzipCompressorInputStream decompressorInputStream = new GzipCompressorInputStream(inputStream);
FileOutputStream outputStream = new FileOutputStream("decompressed-file.txt");

IOUtils.copy(decompressorInputStream, outputStream);

decompressorInputStream.close();
outputStream.close();

In this example, we start by creating a FileInputStream to read the compressed file. We then create a GzipCompressorInputStream to decompress the data. We then create a FileOutputStream to write the decompressed data to a new file.

The IOUtils.copy() method is used again to copy the contents of the input stream to the output stream. Finally, we close all the streams.

Conclusion

Arr, me hearties, that’s all there is to it! Apache Commons IO makes it easy to compress and decompress files in Java. Whether you’re looking to save disk space, transfer files more quickly, or keep your data secure, file compression is a useful tool to have in your pirate toolkit. So next time you need to compress or decompress a file, give Apache Commons IO a try!