Glossary Updates12 new terms added to the glossaries · October 2, 2026, 22:44 CEST
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Glossary · Packages and variants

iiRDS ZIP archive

Also known as: .iirds file, iiRDS archive, delivery ZIP

In iiRDS (intelligent information Request and Delivery Standard), an iiRDS ZIP archive is the standard implementation of an iiRDS container as a ZIP file with the extension .iirds. Its first entry must be an uncompressed file named mimetype containing application/iirds+zip.

  • iiRDS term
  • Ontology
  • Information architecture

In one sentence

An iiRDS ZIP archive is the .iirds file that carries a package: a ZIP whose first, uncompressed entry declares the MIME type application/iirds+zip.

Example

The file machine-x200_en.iirds, uploaded by a machine builder to a customer's content delivery portal, which detects the format from the mimetype entry without unpacking it.

How it applies

  • Format rules: Every application that processes iiRDS must support the ZIP archive. File and directory names are UTF-8 encoded; files are stored uncompressed or with "Deflated" compression; ZIP64 is required above 4 GB or 65,536 entries; and the archive must not be encrypted.
  • Detection: Because the mimetype file comes first and uncompressed, a system can identify an iiRDS package by reading the first bytes — the same approach used by EPUB.
  • Supply chain: The archive is the unit of exchange between iiRDS Generators and iiRDS Consumers — from authoring system to portal, or from supplier to machine builder. Unrestricted packages may nest other archives; iiRDS/H packages may not.
  • AI and ingestion: One file per delivery, with metadata and content together, is an easy unit to version, verify with a checksum and load into a retrieval index.

ZIP archive vs. package

The Package is the information unit described in the metadata. The ZIP archive is the physical file that carries it.

By knowledge.aitechdoc.world · Published September 25, 2026 · Last reviewed

Source: iiRDS Specification 1.3, iiRDS Consortium

Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Knowledge and are not part of any standard.

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