An archive is a file which contains one or more files and folders in
it. The files and folders inside archives are typically compressed, meaning
they take up less space than they normally would on their own.
Using archives enables storing collections of files and folders in much
less space than normally possible. If these files and folders are to be
transferred to other locations through a network or the Internet, the
time it takes for the transfer is also reduced, because there is less
raw data to be transferred.
See also: