archive
1. A single file containing one or (usually)
more separate files plus information to allow them to be
extracted (separated) by a suitable program.
Archives are usually created for software distribution or
{backup}. {tar} is a common format for {Unix} archives, and
{arc} or {PKZIP} for {MS-DOS} and {Microsoft Windows}.
2. To transfer files to slower, cheaper
media (usually {magnetic tape}) to free the {hard disk} space
they occupied. This is now normally done for long-term
storage but in the 1960s, when disk was much more expensive,
files were often shuffled regularly between disk and tape.
3. {archive site}.
(1996-12-08)