ZIP file

This page contains information on the ZIP file extension (Zipped File), a popular compressed file format

File extension	.zip
Category	Compressed File
Description	The .zip file extension is the most well known file type related to compressed and archived files. First released in 1989, the format is still widely used and is built into Microsoft Windows releases since 1998. It is also supported by Apple's OSX operating system. The ZIP format supports compression via several different techniques and even supports simply archiving of files without compression. Despite being 20 years old, the ZIP format looks set to continue to thrive whilst bandwidth and storage remain relatively costly.
Actions	Convert ZIP file View other compressed file formats
Technical Details	The compression techniques used to create a .zip file do so by compressing each file individually. This has the advantage of potentially using different appropriate compression techniques for each file within the archive, however under normal circumstances it limits the potential compression capability. Although the ZIP format allows for up to 10 different types of compression to be chosen, the DEFLATE method is the most common. DEFLATE is based on Huffman coding.
Associated programs	StuffIt WinRAR Winzip
Developed by	PKWARE
MIME type	application/zip application/x-zip application/x-zip-compressed application/octet-stream application/x-compress application/x-compressed multipart/x-zip
Useful links	More Information on ZIP Zip Format Specification RAR to ZIP Convert ZIP file

Using Zamzar it is possible to convert ZIP files to a variety of other formats