ZIPSAVF – Zip Up an IBM i Save File
If you ask any IBM i Developer what a *SAVF is they will tell you “its an IBM file that contains a backup of various IBM i objects from a single file to an entire library”. They may also tell you that these files can be really big; anything from a few mega to gigabytes or terrabytes in size.
Luckily IBM I Save Files compress very well and the ZIPSAVF command is used to take any *SAVF object and compress it using PKZIP technology into the IFS (integrated file system) ready for copying off-line or even emailing.
File compression can be anything from 40% to 90% smaller.
This command is super useful when you want to email a library in native IBM i format.
NOTE: This uses the IBM i implementation of Java (QSHELL: JAR command) which sidesteps the 2GB size limit that other ZIP commands get bitten by.
Save anything you like to a *SAVF and let ZIPSAVF do the compression for you