GZ and ZIP explained
Gzip compresses a single file — it is not an archive format and cannot hold multiple files, which is why it is combined with TAR.
ZIP bundles multiple files into one and compresses them. Its indispensable property is that every operating system can open it with no extra software.
- Where GZ files come from
- Compressed logs, HTTP transfer encoding and Unix pipelines.
- Where ZIP is used
- Email attachments, downloads and file transfers.