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ZIP (file format) facts for kids

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ZIP
The Unarchiver zip.png
Filename extension
.zip
Internet media type
application/zip
Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) com.pkware.zip-archive
Magic number PK\003\004 or PK\005\006 (empty archive) (unless a bootstrap script is present)
Developed by Phil Katz
Type of format Data compression

The ZIP file format is a popular lossless data compression and archival format created by Phil Katz, founder of PKWARE. A ZIP file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce their file size, or stored as-is. A number of compression algorithms are permitted in zip files but in 2008 only DEFLATE is widely used and supported.

Usage

ZIP files generally use the file extensions ".zip" or ".ZIP" and the MIME media type application/zip. Some software uses the ZIP file format as a wrapper for a large number of small items in a specific structure. Generally when this is done a different file extension is used.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Formato de compresión ZIP para niños

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