Describing patterns
Compression exploits structure in data. Results vary by content, and already compressed material may shrink little or not at all.
Lossless and lossy
Lossless methods allow exact reconstruction. Lossy methods discard information according to a chosen model, which may be appropriate for some media uses but not for executable software or exact preservation.
Packaging is another function
An archive can gather files and directory structure into one package. Archiving and compression are related but distinct. A small package may require considerably more space after extraction.
Integrity is not trust
An integrity check can detect corruption without proving that the contents are safe or authentic. Successful extraction also does not establish compatibility with a modern system. The everyday ZIP archive reflects a durable computing idea: information and its storage representation are different things, and careful representation can save both space and transfer time.
Sources and further reading
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Σύνταξη & Επιμέλεια: Βλαχογιάννης Λ. Γεώργιος
Μέλος της Ένωσης Συντακτών Εφημερίδων, Περιοδικών και Ηλεκτρονικών Μέσων Βορείου Ελλάδος