Compressed archives allow multiple files to be packaged into a single file, making them easier to store and share while reducing disk space usage. Many archiving tools also include advanced features such as encryption, file splitting (spanning), integrity checks (checksums), and options for creating self-extracting or self-installing packages. The ZIP format is the most widely used, supported natively by Windows and more recently by macOS. The RAR format is also popular for its flexibility and compression efficiency. On Unix systems, the TAR format is commonly used, while Linux often combines TAR with GZ (gzip) for compression.
