Disk archive notation
Some archive programs have self-extraction, self-installation, source volume and medium information, and package notes/description.
#Disk archive notation apk#
Examples include deb for Debian, JAR for Java, APK for Android, and self-extracting Windows Installer executables.įeatures supported by various kinds of archives include: While the archival file format is the same, there are additional conventions about contents, such as requiring a manifest file, and the resulting format is known as a package format. Software distribution īeyond archival purposes, archive files are frequently used for packaging software for distribution, as software contents are often naturally spread across several files the archive is then known as a package. Īdditionally, it facilitates transferring high numbers of small files such as resources of saved web pages, since a container file is transferred using a single file operation, whereas transferring many small files requires the computer to modify the file system structure for each file individually, making it considerably slower. Applications Portability Īrchive files are particularly useful in that they store file system data and metadata within the contents of a particular file, and thus can be stored on systems or sent over channels that do not support the file system in question, only file contents – examples include sending a directory structure over email, files with names unsupported on the target file system due to length or characters, and retaining files' date and time information.