Faster alternative to Python's zipfile module?

Question

Is there a noticeably faster alternative to Python 2.7.4 zipfile module (with ZIP_DEFLATED) for zipping a large number of files into a single zip file? I had a look at czipfile

Answer 1

As Patashu mentions, outsourcing to 7-zip might be the best idea.

Here's some sample code to get you started:

import os
import subprocess

path_7zip = r"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe"
path_working = r"C:\temp"
outfile_name = "compressed.zip"
os.chdir(path_working)

ret = subprocess.check_output([path_7zip, "a", "-tzip", outfile_name, "*.txt", "*.py", "-pSECRET"])

As martineau mentioned you might experiment with compression methods. This page gives some examples on how to change the command line parameters.