Python 3 - Second Edition

32.4    Compressed Files and Archives

Python's standard library provides functionality to process files that are compressed in various ways. For example, the gzip module of the standard library allows you to easily read and write files that are compatible with the zlib library.[ 157 ] Because working with other formats is similar to working with gzip, we’ll limit a more detailed discussion to gzip and list other formats that are supported in Table 32.4.

The gzip module provides the open function, which can be used in a similar way as the built-in open function.

32.4.1    gzip.open(filename, [mode, compresslevel])

The gzip.open function returns an object that can be used like a normal file object.

The filename and mode parameters are equivalent ...