June 1, 2023, 7:23 am | Read time: 4 minutes
In English-speaking regions, a “zipper” refers to a zipper. The zipper principle inspired American programmer Phil Katz when he developed the Zip format in the late 1980s. His idea of compressing files to save space on computers has since become a global standard for data compression.
The history of data compression doesn’t begin with Zip but actually dates back to the mid-19th century. In 1838, American Samuel Finley Breese Morse developed the Morse code, which significantly sped up the transmission of messages via telegraphy. In Morse code, each letter is assigned a specific sequence of short and long tones. When encoding, Morse considered how frequently a letter appears in everyday language. Frequently used letters consist of short tones, while less common letters have longer tones.
Overview
About 150 years later, this principle also underlies the Zip format invented by programmer Phil Katz, broadly speaking. The American wasn’t the first to work on a format to compress data. As is often the case in computer history, Phil Katz simply hit the right timing to market his Zip format.
Zip Format Emerges from a Dispute
However, the development didn’t proceed quietly. By the mid-1980s, the company System Enhancement Associates (SEA) already had a successful data compression format called ARC on the market. Phil Katz used this format and programmed his own format, PKArc, based on the ARC code. PK stands for Phil Katz. He distributed the format and the necessary program as shareware. With the revenue from sales, the programmer founded his own company, PKWare.
It all sounds like a classic success story. However, SEA contacted Phil Katz, claiming he had stolen SEA’s source code. Both parties ended up in court. Phil Katz eventually settled with SEA and promised not to distribute PKArc further.
But Phil Katz didn’t remain idle; he developed a compression program that would overshadow ARC compression. The new creation, PKZIP, debuted in 1989 and quickly spread worldwide due to its distribution on popular shareware platforms.
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Zip Bundles Data from Number Codes
The Zip format developed by Phil Katz is a lossless data compression method. This means the compressed data is restored to its original form on the computer after decoding. How does it work? Zip compresses data similarly to Morse code, using what’s known as redundancy reduction.
In redundancy reduction, the encoding program scans files for repeating characters. For example, if the word “the” appears 500 times in a Word document, the Zip format assigns a code, such as “1,” to the word. This turns a long text into a code of numbers, significantly reducing the used storage space. However, the principle operates on a much deeper level, specifically in the realm of bits and bytes.
Data compression also involves what’s called irrelevance reduction. This method is particularly suitable for images, songs, and videos. Well-known formats that reduce data this way include JPG and MP3. Photos, music collections, or video archives can also be compressed with Zip. However, the format offers limited space savings for digital media. Zip’s strengths lie more in compressing text-based files.
Nonetheless, it can be advantageous to pack texts, images, music, and videos into a single Zip file. Especially when various files need to be sent via email, it’s faster if everything is bundled into one Zip data container for digital transmission.
Read also: The meaning of CC and BCC in an email
Inventor of the Zip Format Suffers from Fame
In the early years of the internet, the term “zipping” was long used as a synonym for compressing data to send via email. Today, the operating systems of the two major providers, Microsoft and Apple, have built-in compression functions. The term “zipping” is still often used, even if a completely different format is behind it. Well-known compression formats and programs include ARC, RAR, TAR, and WinZip. Each of the countless formats has its own advantages. Therefore, it’s worth checking which format is best suited to free up space on your computer.
Unfortunately, Phil Katz didn’t witness much of the further development of his Zip format. His company, PKWare, grew significantly in the 1990s. However, with success came increased alcohol consumption for the founder. Phil Katz eventually rarely appeared at his company, spending most of his life in motels. On April 14, 2000, his lifeless body was found in a motel room. The medical examiners later determined the cause of death to be a pancreatic hemorrhage caused by acute alcohol poisoning. Phil Katz was only 37 years old.