web access to individual files in tar or gz?

Is there way to access individual files in tar or gz archives from web?

[skymap]

Is there way to access individual files in tar or gz archives from web?

I have many small image files, more than my web space provider allows to host (>260,000). So I'm thinking about possibility to tar them up to reduce number of files. Question is - Is it possible to access files in tar hosted by Apache? Performance is also have to be considered.

Thank you,
Sergei

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[edited by: tedster at 2:20 am (utc) on Mar. 14, 2007]

[vincevincevince]

Four things:
1) Think about a dedicated server - that will give you much more generous space and bandwidth allowances
2) Hosts shouldn't be limiting the number of image files, although it is reasonable for them to limit the total disk space the site uses
3) Try putting all the parts into a database with gzip compression first. If you are using MySQL then use PHP to gzip and gunzip on the fly, storing the resulting data in a BLOB. It will also allow you to use the same database for different types of image search and location.
4) Welcome to webmasterworld! According to the Terms of Service, you can't give links to your site, and you can't use a signature - if you have time - use the edit link and remove it from your post above. If not, I'm sure a moderator will do it soon.