File type compression

So, for the purpose of keeping this post clear and easy to follow, we'll be focusing on just the ZIP extension. Essentially, a compressed file is a sort of archive that contains one or more files that have been reduced in size.

Since these file are smaller, they can be stored without taking up much space, or transferred at higher speeds over the Internet. By using a program such as WinZip, you can then decompress the file or files back into their original state without any degradation.

Here's where things can get a little complicated. Essentially, there are two main types of file compression? Lossless compression takes your files and reduces their size without losing any information. I know that's a pretty big oversimplification, so let's break them down one at a time.

This may sound crazy, but it's how it works. In order for lossless compression to work, a file needs to be reduced without losing anything. This is done by removing redundancy. Data redundancy is a condition created within a database or data storage environment in which the same piece of data is held in multiple places. The same information is there, but it's simplified to takes up less space Note that the numbers correspond to the number of times that the previous letter repeats.

This is mainly used for text and spreadsheets because losing words or data from a document isn't something you want to happen. Lossy compression functions basically the same way, but as you can probably tell by the name, it results in some data being permanently lost not as bad as it sounds. This is more common with media files like video, audio, and images because they don't really suffer too much from the data loss.

In fact, music and videos you currently have on your computer have probably been compressed and you don't even notice the missing bits.

This is because the data that's removed is outside of the range humans can hear or see. There is a downside, however - If you compress the same file over and over again using the lossy method, you'll start to notice a reduction in quality since data is being removed each time. If you're someone who frequently edits media files, you know how crucial file compression is when transferring photos, music, and videos. You really don't want to kill all your bandwidth and waste tons of valuable storage space.

If you're not one of those people, then here's why it's so necessary. Let's say you have a huge number of files on your computer, but don't plan on doing anything with them for a while maybe you're a virtual hoarder, who knows. Leaving them on your hard drive to take up space isn't the most practical thing to do. Instead, you can ZIP a large quantity of files into a single archival folder that both frees up space and makes organizing a lot cleaner.

Storing your collection of old Kung Fu movies on a hard drive? Compress them all down into one ZIP file and be amazed at how much space you'll save. If you've ever tried emailing a really large file, you know it can take a long time.

Even worse - trying to email several documents at once. A lot of the time your message will fail because some email clients don't allow files over a certain size to transfer. Sure, you could send a series of multiple emails with small attachments on each, but that's both time consuming and hard to keep track of and you'll probably annoy the recipient. You are commenting using your Google account.

You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Compression — Loss Less vs Lossy Two forms of compression schemes shrink the large size of graphic files: LossLess This compression technique reduces the size of a file without sacrificing any original data.

Example : If the picture had a lot of blue sky, the program would pick one color of blue that could be used for every pixel. Then, the program rewrites the file so that the value for every sky pixel refers back to this information. Compare file types. Which files should you use when? GIF does not compress your pictures, which mean that they do not loose any image quality — but files are consequently large. GIF files can only store and display colors in the RGB or indexed color gamut GIF files unsuitable for use in a print production workflow, but highly desirable in a Web design situation.

RZ Rzip Compressed File 3. Z04 Fourth Split Zip File 3. J JAR Archive 3. Z02 Second Split Zip File 3. ZZ Zzip Compressed Archive 3. ZW Zooper Widget Template 3. Z00 Split Zip Archive 3. ZI Renamed Zip File 3.

Q Quantum Compressed File 3. XOJ Xournal Notebook 3. Z01 First Split Zip File 2. GZ Pack Compressed Archive 2. Z Zipped Tarball File 2. XZM Porteus Module 2.

UC2 UltraCompressor 2 Archive 2. TZ Zipped Tar Archive 2. SI Sound Interleave Archive 2. P01 Parchive Recovery Volume 2. S09 ZipSplitter Part 10 File 2. SPA Spotify Application 1.