A TAR file is a file archive widely used on UNIX systems and created with the standard TAR utility. The TAR format is used to pack multiple files into one uncompressed archive, which can then be further compressed using the Gzip or bzip utility to save disk space. The resulting TAR file Mac archive has a corresponding extension, for example .tar.gz or .tgz.
As a format, TAR is as simple as possible. Files in the archive are located one after another, while the metadata of each file is placed in front of its contents and, accordingly, does not depend in any way on other files, the beginning or the end of the archive. This allows TAR to be used for streaming packing or unpacking. Stream packing and unpacking means that there is no need for intermediate recording of the archive to the media.
It means that, for example, in case with ZIP, you must first download the archive and then unpack it, with TAR you can open TAR file Mac archives and get the content right away without downloading them.
Since the TAR file format is used to store multiple files in a single file, it is a popular method for both archiving and sending multiple files over the Internet, such as downloading software.
