TestOut Linux Pro Practice Test 2025 – Complete Exam Prep Guide

The command that allows you to archive and compress data in one step is 'tar -czf'. This command utilizes the `tar` utility, which is designed for archiving files and directories. The options `-c`, `-z`, and `-f` specify the actions to take: `-c` creates a new archive, `-z` compresses the archive using gzip, and `-f` allows you to specify the name of the archive file.

This single command effectively combines archiving and compression, making it a popular choice for creating backups on Linux systems. By using gzip compression, it helps to reduce the size of the archive, which is particularly useful for saving storage space and speeding up the transfer of the backup files.

Other options, while related to data management, do not serve the dual purpose of archiving and compressing simultaneously in the same efficient step that 'tar -czf' achieves. For example, 'zip' creates a compressed archive but does not utilize the traditional Unix archive format. The commands 'compress' and 'archive' are not standard commands for creating combined archives and compressed files, which makes them less suitable for the needs described in the question.