ZIP and WinZip format

There was a time when disk space was scarce and precious, and the files to save on it, very numerous.

Tools such as compressors or disk duplicators helped us to get 40 Megabytes (yes, you read that correctly, Megabytes, not Gigabytes. That will be much later) where there were only 20.

And, for files, methods were also invented to compress them if we did not want to "duplicate" the disk. One of the most famous was the algorithm ZIP, and one of the programs that used it that gained more fame was WinZip.

The name ZIP responds to a simile with a zipper (in English, zip), thus implying its speed in the operation compressing and decompressing files

Originally, the compression algorithm was devised by Phil Katz, from the PKWARE company, specializing in the solutions of software for file compression, and that in the late 1980s it was using the Format ARC.

For legal reasons, they had to abandon the latter format, adopting the ZIP for their PKZIP product. This is how they both became famous.

The ZIP format consists of a mathematical algorithm of compression without data loss that allows storing within a single compressed file several other files and even a structure of directories

The final volume is always less than the sum of the individual volumes of the contained files, so that we save storage space. storage and we can manage the data with greater comfort, although losing versatility, since before we can use it, we have to decompress it again.

Although the era of greatest need for compression utilities has passed, the ZIP compression format is still used, no longer to store files permanently on hard drives, since today, the price of Mega (already from Jig) is practically trivial, being able to easily get hold of several Terabyte hard drives to load content that practically in no case exceeds the available space.

Its main utility today is to facilitate the sending of files and folders through the email, reducing the volume that files occupy and facilitating the joining of several files and folders in a single file so as not to be downloading each one individually.

It is thanks to its popularity and great use that it is given, that most operating systems (not to say all), natively include the necessary support to work with folders and compressed files in the ZIP.

And it is precisely this that has harmed one of the most famous programs that have used the ZIP compression algorithm.

WinZip is a utility for Windows that allows us to compress, decompress and manage ZIP files from the Windows graphical interface

However, the integration native support for ZIP format in operating systems, has practically eliminated the need to install third-party utilities to handle this type of files.

Initially appeared in the early 90's, initially WinZip was just an interface graph for PKZIP, although it subsequently evolved.

In Windows 95 it began to integrate with the operating system, allowing you to compress files and folders, and decompress compressed files, with a simple click of the button right button, as it integrates with the context menu.

One feature that made it stand out from the rest of the compression utilities was to allow the navigation through the compressed files without having to decompress the content previously, a luck of preview that makes life easier for users.

Before the advent of WinZip, there had been other implementations of the ZIP algorithm on MS-DOS / Windows systems, but none were as simple, powerful, and versatile as this one.

This was precisely the key to its great instant success: offering an easy and powerful product, free of charge, integrated into the system operational, and using a standard compression format so that one could exchange their compressed files with other users of other platforms.

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