From the author of Lzip compressing utility:
Xz has a complex format, partially specialized in the compression of executables and designed to be extended by proprietary formats. Of the four compressors tested here, xz is the only one alien to the Unix concept of "doing one thing and doing it well". It is the less appropriate for data sharing, and not appropriate at all for long-term archiving.
In general, the more complex the format, the less probable that it can be decoded in the future. But the xz format, just as its infamous predecessor lzma-alone, is specially badly designed. Xz copies almost all the defects of gzip and then adds some more, like the fragile variable-length integers. Just one bit-flip in bit 7 of any byte of one variable-length integer and the whole xz stream comes tumbling down like a house of cards. Using xz for anything other than compressing short-lived executables is not advisable.
Don't interpret me wrong. I am very grateful to Igor Pavlov for inventing/discovering LZMA, but xz is the third attempt of his followers to take advantage of the popularity of 7zip and replace gzip and bzip2 with inappropriate or badly designed formats. In particular, it is shameful that support for lzma-alone was implemented in both GNU and Linux.
http://www.nongnu.or..._benchmark.html
Edited by Huevos, 22 October 2017 - 18:02.
