Compression

Technology that reduces the size of a file to save bandwidth .

Has several meanings. In one context, it refers to algorithms for shrinking the storage space required for files stored on discs. In those instances, nothing is usually sacrificed in the compression, although files may have to be decompressed before they can be utilized later on. In another context, compression refers to the storage of graphics or video files in such a way that they can be stored and/or processed more efficiently on computers. In the latter case, something (e.g., color depth, resolution, image sharpness, etc.) is usually lost in the process. (See also GIF, JPEG, Indeo, and MPEG)

Compression is a technique to make a file or a data stream compacted in order to save server space and reduce transfer times.There are a number of programs that will compress files such as WinZip,gnuzip,PKZIP,Stuffit etc.Files with the following extensions are almost always compressed files;arc,arj,gz,taz,tar,zip,zoo,Z,tgz,taZ,lha,lhz.