ZipGenius 6.3.2.3116
I do not know what happened, but years ago from what I remember, unzipping compressed files on your computer was way easier. These days, you need to have a dedicated program to unzip files and that ...
File Compression
PowerArchiver 21.00.17
PowerArchiver is an exclusive file archiver that is developed by ConeXware Inc. The tool is compatible with almost 60 archive formats. No matter how much data you own, this file archiver will help to ...
WinRAR 6.24
WinRAR is a compression and archiving program that was initially released in the year 1995. It was developed for users who require advanced file compression and archiving beyond what is offered by ...
PeaZip 8.7.0
Archiving all kinds of software is not always the easiest thing to do. Granted, Windows has some archiving features but they are not really the best. They are functional, true, but if you want more ...
FileOptimizer 15.80.2721
Working with a lot of files can be a pain, especially if you have to transfer them over the Internet. We’re talking time and effort in organizing and then deploying whatever you’re trying to send. If ...
WinZip 26.0 Build 15033
WinZip is a trial version (it's free to download) of a program designed to create and unpack archives in the ZIP format as well as those prepared in other formats. The application can also send files ...
7-Zip 22.00
The free file compression utility 7-Zip is a downloadable alternative to WinZip or WinRAR. The open-source application is becoming increasingly popular. 7-Zip is a file archiving program with the ...
File compression programs, also known as file archivers, are applications that encode data to reduce the disk space it occupies. These types of programs allow users to create their own archives, and then, for example, to send them by email or to an FTP server. With archivers, you will be able to open compressed files received from other people or downloaded from the Internet.
The most popular format of compressed archives is ZIP, which is supported by almost all available applications, both paid and free. There are also other formats, such as RAR, CAB, ACE, or 7z, which sometimes require the use of other programs, although nowadays most file compression programs deal with all the basic formats. File compression programs that support various other numerous formats include 7-Zip, bzip2, WinZip, and WinRAR.
Most of the archivers also contain various archiving management tools which allow for:
- division and merging of archives,
- testing them for errors,
- repairing these errors,
- backup
For added security, archivers can also be protected with a password and with additional encryption. There is also the possibility of creating an executable file – an archive / self-extracting file, which means that, after clicking, it unpacks itself. For this to work, the end-user does not need any file compression software.
It is also worth explaining what lossless and lossy compression is. Lossless compression is one in which data can be reproduced to a version identical to the original. An example of lossless compression is the ZIP data compression format. This type of compression is done by file compression programs.
On the other hand lossy compression, is used when creating MP3 or JPEG files. The size of the file is reduced, but the quality of sound or picture is also degraded.
Among the lossless compression algorithms used in data compression programs, the most popular are Huffman coding and the Burrows-Wheeler transform.
