What command is typically used to compress files in Linux?

The command that is typically used to compress files in Linux is gzip. While tar is primarily used for archiving files, typically combining multiple files into a single tarball (with a .tar extension), it can also be used in conjunction with compression tools like gzip. The most common usage of tar is to create an archive, and while it does not compress files on its own, it can be combined with gzip to create a compressed tarball (often with a .tar.gz extension).

On the other hand, gzip is specifically designed to compress files and works by compressing individual files, yielding smaller sizes for those files. It is common to see commands that use both tar for archiving and gzip for compression, making tar a very versatile tool in the process of file handling.

The other options provided, such as zip and compress, refer to different methods of file compression that are not as standard in most Linux distributions. Zip is more commonly associated with the zip utility found on various operating systems, including Windows. Compress, while it may be present, is less commonly used today compared to gzip. Therefore, when considering the most appropriate and widely-used method among these choices, gzip stands out as the primary command for file compression in the Linux environment.