Host changing....compression issues/question

[Qvae]

you can ask Zen Cart to do it itself by setting GZip Compression to 1 under Admin->Configuration->GZip Compression.

1/ Maybe a dumb question, but would that enable it site wide, or just for zen?

2/ If I read the link you pointed to me correctly, all web compression basically leads back to gzip through calling something. So do I still have gzip function through php? If that is the case, why did the host say "gzip isn't something that we install any longer" and "we no longer install mod_gzip,"?

Or am I just confusing something?

Thanks.

[DrByte]

1. Only for Zen Cart.

2. Probably only works within PHP.

It's odd that a host would "no longer" install gzip support. It's not exactly obsolete...

[Qvae]

Thanks for your help. I also found out...correct me if I'm wrong on my statements, gzip seems to be available to servers regardless, it is just a matter of how you call it. Through mod_gzip, or through the php function which I believe is what you were stating with ob_start and ob_flush. Now my understanding is through the php function it is less efficient than through mod_gzip(I don't know what the efficiency factor is based on from where I read that. Speed, compression ratio?). However I believe I have proved to myself about the inefficiency with my own unscientific tests of speed with a few pages off of my current site against sites I have found at this potential host with compression running of comparable/"relative" size (basically 10,000 bytes difference either way), my site always performed an average of 5-15 seconds faster through tests at websiteoptimization.com at all of the potential connection speeds.

So I guess my question is, is the php compression less efficient?

Thanks.