If a .zip file contains all of the information of the original, just in less space, why does it have to be unzipped to access any of it?

Question

If a .zip file contains all of the information of the original, just in less space, why does it have to be unzipped to access any of it?

In: 1276

Answer 1

Think of it as a big bookshelf. It takes a bunch of space on in your room and is useful as, well, a shelf.

IKEA comes in and figures out how to take the shelf apart and put it in a compact box with instructions on how to put it back together.

So now you’ve got the entire shelf in the nice compact box. It takes up less space, easier to move around, etc. But it doesn’t function as a shelf. To make it work like a shelf again, you have to take it out of the box and follow the instructions to put it back together.