1. < file format > 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)