At its core, the ZIP format is an archive container that supports lossless data compression, primarily through the .

: A ZIP file consists of multiple headers: a Local File Header for each individual file, a Central Directory to index the archive, and an End of Central Directory Record .

: Libraries like libarchive are favored for being cross-platform, allowing C/C++ developers to build archiving tools for Unix, Windows, and mobile operating systems.

: Modern iterations like WinZip 27 include dedicated modules for specific media types, such as WinZip Image Manager for batch resizing and WinZip PDF Express for merging and protecting PDF documents.