[GIS] Import of OSM data into PostgreSQL using osm2pgsql: which formats are supported

Question

I followed a tutorial to install a PostgreSQL server on my Mac OS X Mavericks, and to import some OSM data with the osm2pgsql converter (https://www.mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/guides/osm-bright-mac-quickstart/).

I used OSM data in the .osm.pbf format for the import. That works fine.

Is it possible to use the formats .osm and .osm.bz2 as well? And maybe other formats?
Do I then need to add certain options to the osm2pgsql command, depending on the chosen format?

I intend to import only small amounts of data into the database, mainly for visualizing purposes in TileMill.

Answer 1

it can read .gz, .bz2, .pbf and .o5m files directly