Compression formats with good support for random access within archives?

Question

This is similar to a previous question, but the answers there don\'t satisfy my needs and my question is slightly different:

I currently use gzip compression for som

Answer 1

I don't know if its been mentioned yet, but the Kiwix project had done great work in this regard. Through their program Kiwix, they offer random access to ZIM file archives. Good compression, too. The project originated when there was a demand for offline copies of the Wikipedia (which has reached above 100 GB in uncompressed form, with all media included). They have successfully taken a 25 GB file (a single-file embodiment of the Wikipedia without most of the media) and compressed it to a measly 8 GB zim file archive. And through the Kiwix program, you can call up any page of the Wikipedia, with all associated data, faster than you can surfing the net.

Even though Kiwix program is a technology based around the Wikipedia database structure, it proves that you can have excellent compression ratios and random access simultaneously.