export/import through gzip

1. create a pipe:

$ mknod gzpipe p

2. start gzip

$ gzip -c < gzpipe > exp.gz &

3. run exp

$ exp scott/tiger file=gzpipe ... 

import would then be:

$ gunzip -c < exp.gz > gzpipe &
$ imp scott/tiger file=gzpipe ... 

Unfortunately piping cannot be used with 10g datapump. Here's what oracle whitepaper says:

Can I use gzip with Data Pump?
Because Data Pump uses parallel operations to achieve its high performance, you
cannot pipe the output of Data Pump export through gzip. Starting in Oracle
Database 11g, the COMPRESSION parameter can be used to compress a Data Pump
dump file as it is being created. The COMPRESSION parameter is available as part
of the Advanced Compression Option for Oracle Database 11g.