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The computer term Zip refers to a file format and the process of using it to compress and bundle one or more files and folders into a single archive. This reduces the file size, making the data easier to store, transfer, and back up.

How Zip files work: The process, often called "zipping," uses a form of lossless data compression. This means that when the file is "unzipped" (or extracted), the data is restored to its exact original form without any loss of quality.

Redundancy removal: The compression algorithms analyze the data in the files to find and replace redundant or repetitive patterns with shorter, more efficient representations. This is especially effective on text and certain other file types.

Archiving: Zipping also serves as an archiving method, bundling multiple selected files and their folder structures into a single file with a .zip extension. This creates a single, organized package that is easy to manage and share.

Common uses and advantages

Saves storage space: Compressing files can significantly reduce the amount of disk space they take up on a computer or server.

Faster transfers: Because the file size is smaller, it takes less time to upload or download a Zip file, which is useful when sending data over the internet or via email.

Convenient sharing: Instead of sending dozens of separate files as email attachments, they can all be put into a single Zip file. The recipient can then download the single file and extract its contents.

Operating system integration: All major operating systems, including Windows and macOS, have built-in support for zipping and unzipping files, so no extra software is required for basic use.