How do you view the contents of a compressed file (e.g., file.gz)?

The command 'zcat file.gz' is specifically designed to view the contents of compressed files, particularly those with gzip compression, such as .gz files. This command decompresses the gzip file and sends the output to the standard output, allowing the user to see the uncompressed contents without manually extracting the file to disk. It effectively functions like 'cat', which concatenates and displays file content, but is optimized for dealing with gzip-compressed files.

Moreover, 'zcat' is part of the gzip package and serves the purpose of providing access to compressed content seamlessly, making it an ideal choice for quickly viewing data without needing to first extract it. This functionality is especially useful for inspecting log files, text documents, or any data that is stored in a compressed format, as it eliminates the need for intermediate steps.

In contrast, commands like 'cat file.gz' would simply display the compressed binary data, which is not human-readable. The 'less file.gz' command would also not work for viewing the contents effectively since 'less' does not natively handle compressed files. The command 'tar -xzvf file.gz' is intended for extracting archives created with tar that are also compressed using gzip and would not be suitable for merely viewing the contents