ZAR (Zip-Archiv)

File Format
Name	ZAR (Zip-Archiv)
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Archiving ZAR (Zip-Archiv)
Extension(s)	.zar
Released	1994

ZAR is the native compressed archive format of Zip-Archiv, a DOS utility developed by Peter Troxler (sometimes written "Troxler Peter"). Almost all of the information about it is in German.

Zip-Archiv includes a menu-driven version (ZA.EXE), and a command-line version (ZIP*.EXE).

Format details

ZAR evidently uses PKWARE DCL Implode compression.

To decode a ZAR file, start by reading the 7-byte info block at the end of the file.

Identification

The ASCII signature "PT" appears beginning three bytes from the end of the file.

The file begins with one of the two-byte sequences that are valid for DCL Implode compression -- refer to PKWARE DCL Implode#Identification.

Specifications

The file structure is discussed in the TECHNICS.TXT file included with the software.

Software

• Zip-Archiv
  • v1.0: Pegasus 4.0 → PEGASUS/AUTOREN/ZIPARCH1.ZIP
  • v2.0: Pegasus Vol.1/95 → pegasus/autoren/ziparch2.zip
  • [Ambiguous version - 2.0/2.5]: Pegasus Vol.2 → Pegasus_Vol_2_CD2.iso → PEGASUS/DOS/PACKER/ZIP_AR25.ZIP
  • v2.5: Megastorm 3.0 → Megastorm_3.0_CD1.iso → STC/UTL_KOMP/C1283311.ZIP
  • v2.6