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this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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.tar.pixz/.tpxz has an index and uses LZMA and permits for parallel compression/decompression (increasingly-important on modern processors).
https://github.com/vasi/pixz
It's packaged in Debian, and I assume other Linux distros.
Only downside is that GNU tar doesn't have a single-letter shortcut to use pixz as a compressor, the way it does "z" for gzip, "j" for bzip2, or "J" for xz (LZMA); gotta use the more-verbose "-Ipixz".
Also, while I don't recommend it, IIRC gzip has a limited range that the effects of compression can propagate, and so even if you aren't intentionally trying to provide random access, there is software that leverages this to hack in random access as well. I don't recall whether someone has rigged it up with tar and indexing, but I suppose if someone were specifically determined to use gzip, one could go that route.