ZIP (file format)
| Filename extension |
.zip, .zipx (newer compression algorithms) |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | application/zip |
| Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) | com.pkware.zip-archive |
| Magic number | none, though PK\x03\x04 , PK\x05\x06 (empty archive), or PK\x07\x08 (spanned archive) are common. |
| Developed by | Phil Katz, PKWARE, Inc. |
| Initial release | 1989 |
| Latest release |
6.3.4
(1 October 2014) |
| Type of format | Data compression |
| Extended to |
JAR (EAR, RAR (Java), WAR) Office Open XML (Microsoft) Open Packaging Conventions OpenDocument (ODF) XPI (Mozilla extensions) |
| Standard |
APPNOTE from PKWARE |
| Open format? | Yes |
APPNOTE from PKWARE
ZIP is an archive file format that supports lossless data compression. A .ZIP file may contain one or more files or directories that may have been compressed. The .ZIP file format permits a number of compression algorithms, though DEFLATE is the most common. This format was originally created in 1989 by Phil Katz, and was first implemented in PKWARE, Inc.'s PKZIP utility, as a replacement for the previous ARC compression format by Thom Henderson. The .ZIP format is now supported by many software utilities other than PKZIP. Microsoft has included built-in .ZIP support (under the name "compressed folders") in versions of Microsoft Windows since 1998. Apple has included built-in .ZIP support in Mac OS X 10.3 (via BOMArchiveHelper, now Archive Utility) and later. Most free operating systems have built in support for .ZIP in similar manners to Windows and Mac OS X.
.ZIP files generally use the file extensions ".zip" or ".ZIP" and the MIME media type application/zip. ZIP is used as a base file format by many programs, usually under a different name. When navigating a file system via a user interface, graphical icons representing .ZIP files often appear as a document or other object prominently featuring a zipper.
The .ZIP file format was created by Phil Katz of PKWARE. He created the format after his company had lawsuits filed against him by Systems Enhancement Associates (SEA) claiming that his archiving products were derivatives of SEA's ARC archiving system. The name "zip" (meaning "move at high speed") was suggested by Katz's friend, Robert Mahoney. They wanted to imply that their product would be faster than ARC and other compression formats of the time. The earliest known version of .ZIP File Format Specification was first published as part of PKZIP 0.9 package under the file APPNOTE.TXT in 1989.
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