Is there an easy interface like ZipArchive for tar.gz archives that allows me to stream the archive to the client rather than save it on the server? And if so, could someone
This link may be useful to you. Can you be more specific on not wanting the file to be temporarily on the filesystem?
http://www.clker.com/blog/2008/03/27/creating-a-tar-gz-on-the-fly-using-php/