How can I make my server use gzip compression?

I'd like to make my server apply gzip compression to html, php, javascript and css files.

I think I can do it by editing the .htaccess file. Can someone give me the exact code that I would h开发者_运维技巧ave to add?

Also, if I add the appropriate code to an .htaccess file in the parent directory, does it automatically apply to all sub-directories too? For instance, if I have http://domain1.com pointed at my root directory and http://domain2.com pointed at a sub-directory, will the second domain provide compressed files without me needing to edit the .htaccess file in that directory too?

Thanks

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Use mod_deflate

More info here: http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_deflate.html

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From the document that Peter Hall referenced on mod_deflate:

AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/css text/plain text/javascript application/javascript

And I believe that the answer is "yes" about the setting propagating down the directory tree to subdirectories. The best thing to do is check the response headers from the site (using FireBug or similar tool where you can watch the network traffic) and verify that the contents are compressed.