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

Imagine your file is a lego model of a an X-Wing. if you break the model down into individual bricks and make them into a solid cube it takes up less space. You have the instructions so you can rebuild it at will. This is like the compressed file. All the information and parts are there to rebuild your X-Wing but you have to build the whole thing or none of it; you can’t just get, say, the X-Wing engines without starting from Step 1 and making the whole of it first.

So you can make it appear you’re accessing it at will but actually you’re decopressing and them compressing it again very fast.