ZIP

A .ZIP file is an archive that usually contains one or more compressed or "zipped" files using a Zip compression. It stores the files using different methods and being able to be extracted easily, without compressing or decompressing the files.

The Zip format was created back in 1989 by Phil Katz and was heavily used in the PKZIP utility, developed by PKWARE. It has since grown in popularity and is now supported by most file compression/decompression programs.

Trivia

 * You can't run a .EXE file inside a compressed ZIP file.