PKZip

PKZip, data compression computer software, used for all types of digital files.

In the 1980s the American software company System Enhancement Associates Inc. (SEA) established a popular software application called ARC, which allowed users to compress computer files to save storage space or to send and download files more quickly over modems. In the mid-1980s American computer programmer Phillip Katz began developing his own compression program, PKARC, which was based on SEA’s product and used the ARC file format. Katz’s program was faster and more efficient than ARC, and in 1986 Katz founded his own company, PKWARE, Inc., to promote the product. PKARC became increasingly popular, and in 1988 SEA filed suit against Katz for trademark infringement. SEA won the legal battle, prompting Katz to develop a new product that used different compression techniques. The first version of PKZip (which stands for Phil Katz’s Zip program), written for the Microsoft Corporation’s MS-DOS operating system (OS), was launched in 1989, and a number of releases followed over the years, including a version for Microsoft’s Windows OS.

Featuring a superior compression process, PKZip went on to become one of the most-used file-compression utilities. Using a new file format developed by Katz, the program compressed files into a single file, commonly referred to as a “zip file.” Many other developers created programs that support the file format, and zip files became ubiquitous. In the early 21st century PKZip was supplanted in popularity by other programs such as WinZip and WinRAR.